BREWER, Maine — The number of overdose deaths had gone down before the pandemic, but those numbers are back on the rise.
That’s one of the reasons Jim Carroll, the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, was in Maine Friday.
This morning, Carroll, also known as President Trump’s “Drug Czar” held a roundtable discussion with local law enforcement in Brewer.
They discussed federal actions that have been taken to address substance use disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The director says he was impressed by what he heard today.
"Law enforcement here in this community have come together as one and what they understand is that we’re not gonna just lock our way up, we’re not gonna just arrest our way out of this problem and that we have to come together to make sure that we’re getting help to those that need it," Carroll said. “And of course we also heard is that it is impacting families regardless of what they do for a living.”
Carroll said his department defends law enforcement – not defund – to help their efforts to keep our communities safe.