AVON — An Avon man is accused of selling oxycodone and hydrocodone pills after more than 400 prescription pills were discovered at his home, Franklin County Sheriff Scott Nichols Sr. said in a release. Deputies executed a search warrant on Friday at 148 Avon Valley Road, he said. Daryl “Poochie” Searles, 56, was arrested on […]
drugs
Posted inMaine
Maine Senate amends, approves bill to expand access to anti-heroin drug
AUGUSTA — After unanimous votes Wednesday in both chambers, the Maine Legislature sent Gov. Paul LePage a bill that broadens access to a medication meant to counter deadly overdoses of opiate-based drugs, including prescription painkillers and heroin. Slight changes to the bill that originated in the Senate on Wednesday reportedly will make it more acceptable […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine House OKs expanding heroin overdose antidote
AUGUSTA — After an initial vote in the House, a life-saving drug that can stop an opiate overdose in its tracks could well be on its way into the hands of more emergency responders, law enforcement officers, firefighters and addicts’ loved ones. Despite opposition from Republican Gov. Paul LePage, the House unanimously voted to give […]
Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, Oxford Hills
Emergency responders learn to ID meth labs
PARIS — “These are a problem. These are dangerous. These are going to get people killed,” Matt Cashman said, holding up two innocent-looking plastic soda bottles, one with a plastic tube sticking out the end. Cashman, a supervisor with the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, was starting a two-hour presentation on the risks of responding to possible methamphetamine labs to […]
Posted inMaine
Maine House passes bill to add drug agents; LePage threatens veto
AUGUSTA — The Maine House on Wednesday, with broad bipartisan support, passed an amended version of a Gov. Paul LePage bill that adds drug enforcement agents, judges and prosecutors to the state’s payroll in an effort to bring under control the state’s growing opiate drug problems. The measure also increases funding to the Maine Department […]
Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, Oxford Hills
Mexico man given 30 days for selling oxycodone
PARIS — A Mexico man pleaded guilty Thursday to selling prescription painkillers to an undercover officer last year. Charles S. Cogley, 33, was sentenced in Oxford County Superior Court to two years in prison with all but 30 days suspended and two years of probation to trafficking in oxycodone. Cogley was arrested in June on a […]
Posted inOur View
Our View: LePage resorts to failed tactics of war on drugs
After 40 years and countless billions spent, 82 percent of Americans feel the long-running war on drugs has failed. Somehow, with just a little more money and the same tactics, Gov. Paul LePage thinks he can turn things around. Tuesday, the governor proposed doubling down on that failed war, which is largely a law-enforcement approach […]
Posted inMaine
LePage wants to add 22 positions to fight drug trafficking in Maine
The Republican governor set combating drug crimes as a high priority during his State of the State address in February. The plan is estimated to cost $3 million. “To me, this is not about money,” LePage said. “This is about our people.” Flanked by law enforcement officers from around the state, LePage again detailed the […]
Posted inOxford Hills
Another suspect charged in meth operation
BETHEL — Maine Drug Enforcement agents have made another arrest in the ongoing investigation into a large-scale methamphetamine production and distribution ring in the Bethel area. Macy Jon Blaisdell, 34, of Bethel was arrested at his home on Flat Road on Thursday afternoon by MDEA agent Tony Milligan, according to officials. Blaisdell is facing a charge […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine
Too risky, too young
New survey highlights troubling trends among western Maine teens, tweens One in five western Maine middle school students has seriously thought about committing suicide. The same students were more likely than peers across the state to admit to having huffed paint, smoked marijuana, had sex, gambled or driven with someone drunk or high. In Oxford […]