Maine Seeing A Spike In Meth Use & Trafficking

In recent years, the number of overdoses we have seen in the State of Maine seems to indicate that drug use is on the rise in the Pine Tree State.

Drug seizures by law enforcement seems to show the same thing.

According to News Center Maine, the state saw a massive spike in the amount of meth seized by agents from 2020 to 2021.

In 2020, Maine Drug Enforcement Agency agents seized just over 2,100 grams of meth.  In 2021, they seized 8,500 grams.  That is a 400% increase in just one year!

Just three months into 2022, they have already seized 1,400 grams.  Officils say they expect to seize more meth in 2022 than they did in 2021.

Agents say they use of crystal meth, as opposed to "dirty meth", is on the rise.  Like in the show Breaking Bad, crystal meth is a lab made narcotic, while "dirty meth" is typically made by amateurs in a home or garage setting.

In the news article, Commander Scott Pelletier said:

The availability has increased two-, three-fold.  The potency is very high. The addiction rate or the reuse rate is very high.

He also said that the people bringing other hard narcotics, like cocaine and fentanyl, are the ones bringing meth into the state.  He referred to it as a "one stop shop" for drugs.

He also said that many of the overdoses that the state has seen in the last few years were caused by the fact that many of those other drugs had fentanyl mixed in.

You don't need to fall victim to substance abuse or overdoses.  The State of Maine has many resources for those battling addiction.  Find a list of those resources HERE.