AUGUSTA, Maine — A bill that would have created a program to replace the Penobscot County Drug Court died Monday when members of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee unanimously recommended it not be sent to the Legislature.
“The committee sees the need for a drug court in Bangor and understands the problem we’re facing in Penobscot County,” Rep. Sara Stevens, D-Bangor, who sponsored the bill, said Monday night. “They didn’t see this plan as the best vehicle to get something up and running.”
The drug court, based at Penobscot Judicial Center in Bangor, stopped accepting clients in October after it was announced funding would be eliminated when the new fiscal year begins July 1, 2012. Money from the Bangor-based program will be transferred to the Co-occurring Disorder Court, also called the mental health court, in Augusta, Mary Ann Lynch, spokeswoman for the court system, said in October.
Stevens said Monday that members of the committee recommended getting together with stakeholders in the county after the legislative session ends this spring.
“They were very supportive and want to keep the discussion going,” she said. “I’m very grateful for their hard work on this issue.”
If passed, LD 1701 would have created a program for drug users similar to the one in place for drunken drivers.
The plan outlined in the bill would have required that an individual charged with a civil or criminal violation of the state’s drug laws undergo a mandatory assessment for substance abuse at his or her own expense. That evaluation would be similar to the postconviction evaluation offered in the Driver Education and Evaluation Programs, or DEEP, administered by the Office of Substance Abuse in the Department of Health and Human Services.
DEEP is required by state law for some offenders convicted of operating under the influence. It is a weekend program where people convicted of drunken driving undergo a risk assessment for reoffending and are educated on the risks of driving while intoxicated.
Penobscot County Deputy District Attorney Michael Roberts, who has been a member of the Penobscot County Drug Court team for 10 years, last year reviewed the proposal to fill the gap created by the decision to defund the drug court.
Roberts called it “well intentioned but not very realistic.”
The prosecutor has been critical of the decision to defund the court.
Go through an assessment? Just give them a few days on bail… You’ll get the idea!
I can hear the Mental Wealth workers having a taxpayer funded fiduciary orgasm after this announcement.
Let’s see what the hacks have to say about the local police and the CIA bringing addictive heroin and cocaine into Maine.
Sara the day glow Stevens has that warm tele tubby hug look, eh?
Let me know when she reads the books of DEA Supervisor Mike Levine including WHITE LIES
How about watching the documentary of LAPD Narcotics detective Mike Ruppert who was approached by the CIA to bring heroin and cocaine into LA. google truth and lies of 911 mike ruppert youtube
Watch the full length version
Hey DEA agent Celerino Castillo exposed it in his book POWDER BURNS but
this is why they are called moonbats. Hope you got deep pockets.
The drug war is a total fraud. Neurotransmitter deficiency disease is a medical problem not a criminal problem. The war on drugs makes criminals of people who are ill. How insane is that?
You constantly decry all the efforts made to combat what is obviously a huge problem not only in Maine but the entire world. I would like just one time to hear one little idea how you would make the situation any better and why your idea would work.
drug court was a waste of tax payer money. Tax payers pay for rides to the metodone clinics and it wont be long before medical marijuana users need a funded ride to get stoned. wake up maine these programs dont work and are a drain on the economy. How many 20Year olds and up are looking for a free ride we taught them that if your a drunk,druggie or bi polar your get things for free.The older generations had some pride and worked no matter what it was. wake up maine! wake up America!
Nice try Sara…Roberts is way off the beam. When he was asked by the people who wrote this if he had any ideas he had absolutely no imput.
This is an epedemic that strangles Mainecare. Every repeat offender is on bail conditions already. That is when the State needs to act. Then Maine pays all their bills while they waste away enabled by the state. Free room and board, food card and transportation.
One assessment and a paper trail could stop all this. Goals and growth could be set. No growth, no free ride.
The cost to the state at all levels is ludicrous at best.
Wouldn’t addressing the addiction before it is well enabled be a better way then the current entitlement?…addiction should not be a free ride in Maine any longer
Felt the need to chime in. In contrast to previous comments here I support Drug Courts. I’m an owner of two businesses and have employed many. I’m a homowner and a taxpayer. I’m also a proud parent and Grandparent. I do not use drugs or drink. I’m a 2004 Drug Court Graduate.