Radio Address: Here We Go Again. When Will Politicians Deal with Maine's Drug Problem?

Statement

One of Maine's most valuable resources is at risk, and the problem is sweeping our State and our Nation.

Hello, this is Governor Paul LePage.

Our children are the victims, and drugs are the culprit.
Last year, 961 babies in Maine were born drug-affected. This is 8 percent of births, or 1 in 12 babies.

Five years ago, Maine had just under 400 babies born drug-affected. While one child is too many, this increase is staggering.

Another number continuing to climb is the total drug overdose deaths. There were more than 200 last year. That's more overdose deaths than we had motor vehicle fatalities in 2014.

The number of drug dealing gangs is on the rise. Many of these dealers create dangerous meth labs in our communities. These make-shift drug labs are on an alarming increase. Maine Drug Enforcement Drug agents went from 20 meth labs busts two years ago to 37 last year.

Pharmacy robberies are up, too. Maine had 35 percent more robberies last year than the previous year.

Many out-of-state drug dealers are affiliated with ruthless criminal gangs. They push crack cocaine, heroin, prescription pills and other dangerous drugs into our communities.

Most often these dealers are involved in other crimes, like gun running and human trafficking. In 2014, 17 percent of drug-trafficking arrests were these out-of-state dealers.

Almost half -- 47 percent -- of these dealers were from New York, followed by Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida and six other states.

While Maine is one of the safest states in our Nation, our police officers, drug agents, prosecutors and judges are fighting an uphill battle with these criminals.

Resources have been limited because career politicians don't want to address the problem.

I have identified funding to help our law enforcement, prosecutors and judges tackle our drug problem. However, liberal politicians would rather ignore this epidemic. But I'm not backing down -- not on this one. There is too much at stake. So, once again, I have included funding in my budget to address this serious problem.

We must provide more resources to law enforcement to hunt down these drug dealers. Then we must ensure they pay for their crimes.

The longer we wait, the worse our children will be. Nearly 1,000 babies born in Maine last year were addicted to crack cocaine, heroin, prescription pills and other dangerous drugs.

How many more will there be this year?

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