ASAP Coalition Helps to Curb Prescription Drug Abuse in Maine

Perhaps one of the biggest challenges facing communities right now is prescription drug abuse, with prescription medicines accounting for eight of the top 14 most frequently abused drugs by our nation's youth. The problem is even more pronounced in Maine, which tops the nation in treatment admissions for addiction to prescription narcotics. However, one part of Maine – Aroostook County – is bucking that trend and that's due, in large part, to the efforts of the Aroostook Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP) Coalition.

The ASAP Coalition utilized a data-driven approach to identify prescription drug abuse as a major issue in their community. The coalition identified who was using; how people were obtaining the drugs; and how this impacted youth. After obtaining this information, the coalition worked with various community sectors to implement a strategic plan to prevent and reduce the misuse and abuse of prescription drugs.

“We completed a strategic planning process in 2007 and found that physicians were writing a lot of prescriptions for scheduled drugs and opiates, and that it was a major factor contributing to our county’s prescription drug problem,” Clare Desrosiers, ASAP’s Project Director, explained. “So, several of our efforts are geared at physicians.”

For example, the coalition created and disseminated to healthcare providers throughout the county the Diversion Alert Program, a monthly mailer of individuals charged with prescription/illegal drug related crimes, and provided training to healthcare providers in hospitals throughout the county on prescription drug abuse and pain management related issues. ASAP also implemented a comprehensive social marketing campaign to educate the public about the dangers concerning the abuse of prescription drugs and partnered with law enforcement to set up an ongoing prescription take back program so residents could dispose of their unused or unwanted prescription medicines.

“I think a key to our success is the fact that we have a number of multiple agencies and organizations involved and that the people who are involved are genuinely concerned about the problem and eager to help,” Desrosiers said. “Using the knowledge that we gained from CADCA we employed a multi-pronged, data-driven approach that utilized multiple strategies and involved multiple sectors of the community.”

The coalition’s comprehensive approach certainly paid off. Not only did the number of pharmaceutical related arrests in the county dropped from 64 percent to 40 percent, but now Aroostook County has the lowest rate of past 30 day prescription drug use among high school students in the state, at just under 7 percent.

This week, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration released a report that found more people are getting treatment for prescription drug abuse than a decade ago.