A poll conducted by the University of Maine professors R. Glover and K. Sporer during July and August 2021 found that of the 400 Mainers, a majority believe that the priority is to treat people who have opioid and general drug use disorders rather than punish them under the law.
The findings are the first-ever study that looks at what Maine residents think should be official drug policy in view of the state's record number of overdose deaths in the last two years.
Advocates for LD 967 for drug decriminalization and the introduction of treatment programs in 2021 passed the House but died in the Senate after facing mainly Republican opposition.
More than 75% of voters support access to detox services, medication-assisted substance use treatment and local recovery community centers in every county, as well as similar support for ensuring imprisoned people still have access to substance use disorder therapy, according to the poll.
The researchers said Mainers interviewed belong to different political parties, and most likely differed in their education, employment, religion, and any other demographic. They all agreed on the need for a new drug policy approach. Professor Sporer said that it is very clear in the data.
The voters supported some harm reduction strategies, but remained hesitant on others. 76% are in favor of distributing overdose reversals and 49% back funding of the local syringe exchange, while 30% oppose that policy.
Nearly 50% of respondents would oppose the installation of safer drug consumption sites in the state's metropolitan areas, while approximately 30% would vote in favor and 20% would remain neutral.
Despite these results, professor Glover said support for a treatment-based approach to drug abuse has grown significantly over the last few years, and in this sense there is a possibility of increasing people's approval of safe consumption sites as they learn more about them. The poll found 59% of voters support a social safety net including taking care of the root causes of substance abuse, 53% support requiring data on race, ethnicity and socio-economic status for interactions between law enforcement and the public, and 57% would include people with substance use disorder within non-discrimination policies.
The final part of the survey, consisting of interviews with policymakers, treatment providers and community members, revealed that the main reasons why public opinion shifted to therapy are the fact that recovery can take different shapes and even personal situations where they see themselves involved in a related or direct matter concerning drug use disorder.