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Press Release

U.S. Attorney Halsey Frank Announces More than $1 Million in Justice Department Grants to Combat Addiction Crisis

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Maine

PORTLAND, Maine: U.S. Attorney Halsey Frank today announced awards of more than $1 million in Department of Justice grants to fight drug abuse and addiction in Maine. The grants were awarded by the Department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) and are part of more than $341 million going to communities nationwide.

Cumberland County will receive $899,824 in funding, and the Maine Department of Public Safety will receive $149,915.

Illegal drugs and illicit drug use have claimed the lives of nearly 400,000 Americans since the turn of the century. Powerful synthetic opioids like fentanyl are exacting an enormous toll on families and communities, and an emergence in the use of methamphetamines and other psychostimulants is drawing drug traffickers and driving up overdose rates. Three years ago, President Trump declared a Public Health Emergency and initiated a whole-of-government approach dedicated to ending this national tragedy. The Department of Justice has invested unprecedented levels of funding in combating the addiction crisis. The awards announced today build on those earlier investments.

“The addiction crisis has taken an enormous toll on America’s families and communities, eroding public health, threatening public safety and claiming tens of thousands of lives year after year,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “Through comprehensive measures taken by this administration, we have been able to curtail the opioid epidemic, but new and powerful drugs are presenting exceptional challenges that we must be prepared to meet. The Justice Department’s substantial investments in enforcement, response, and treatment will help us overcome these challenges and work towards freeing Americans from abuse and addiction.”

“Maine has been particularly hard hit by the opioid crisis,” U.S. Attorney Frank said. “Last year, the state saw 380 overdose deaths—a seven percent increase over the previous year—and statistics indicate the numbers have been on the rise again during the pandemic. What the statistics don’t tell is the individual tragedies each of one these deaths represents: the loss of a Mainer’s father, mother, son, daughter, friend or neighbor. Our law enforcement partners and treatment facilities need all the resources at their disposal to fight this crisis, so I am pleased to announce this federal funding.”

“If we hope to defeat an enemy as powerful, persistent and adaptable as illicit drugs, we must be at least as determined and versatile, focusing our ingenuity and resources on curbing abuse and fighting addiction,” said OJP’s Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan. “These grants will enable criminal justice officials and substance abuse, mental health and other medical professionals to pool their assets and bring the full weight of our public safety and treatment systems down on this epidemic that has already caused so much harm.”

Funding is made available through OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, National Institute of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

For a complete list of individual grant programs, award amounts, and jurisdictions that will receive funding, click here. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.

The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years

Contact

Jim Cyr
Public Information Officer
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Updated October 16, 2020

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Grants
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