Two Maine groups make case for decriminalizing drug use and possession

The Maine Center for Economic Policy and the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine discussed findings from their new report “A Better Path for Maine: The Case for Decriminalizing Drugs,” at a news conference Monday.

The report’s central recommendation is for Maine to decriminalize drugs while moving toward and investing in proven, cost-effective public health approaches to drug use.

“Maine spends $111 million per year to punish people for using drugs,” Maine ACLU and the economic policy center said in a news release. “The return on this investment: record shattering overdose deaths, thousands of people held back from reaching their full potential because of criminal records, widespread constitutional violations, disrupted lives and disrupted communities.”

Click here to read the full story, first published March 21, 2022, in the Portland Press Herald.