A new Maine law paves the way for a drug treatment court to open in Aroostook County, with $740,783 provided for staff and services.
Last week, Gov. Janet Mills signed into law LD 779, An Act to Fund the Aroostook County Drug Treatment Court. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Anne Carney, D-Cape Elizabeth, ensures that The County’s drug court will finally become operational.
“All Mainers, no matter where they live, deserve access to justice and recovery,” Carney said in a statement. “It’s an issue personally close to my heart, as services like this could have helped save my brother’s life before he lost his battle against substance use disorder. This is a critical investment that will help protect lives in a region of our state where it is needed most.”
There is a history of efforts to create a treatment court in Aroostook County that began with a 2023 bill, LD 1596, sponsored by former Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash. Until now, there was no comparable service for people living in Maine’s northern region, leaving recovery behind bars as the only option.
Treatment and recovery courts, known in Maine as specialty dockets, offer an alternative to jail for people with substance use disorder. Applicants must go through a screening process and plead guilty to their alleged crimes. The program includes intensive treatment for substance use and other issues, as well as regular supervision.
According to research, drug treatment courts reduce criminal recidivism, improve quality of life and enhance public safety, Elizabeth Simoni, executive director of Maine Pretrial Services, said in support of the bill.
“Our tools in responding to the drug problem are rough — jail and the threat of jail,” Aroostook County District Attorney Todd Collins said in his testimony in support of the bill. “I do not see how we can, in good conscience, wait for someone to kill, injure, maim, burglarize, rob, or steal before we step in and demand a ‘serious’ response to a serious problem.”
Still, in 2023, a legislative committee decided The County’s drug treatment court needed a more comprehensive plan prior to approval. A stakeholders working committee led by Collins was established.
There are now six state adult treatment drug courts located in Androscoggin, Cumberland, Oxford, Penobscot, Washington and York counties.
For people in Aroostook, the closest similar option has been in Calais, more than 130 miles away from The County’s population center.
In 2024, the Legislature approved The County’s treatment court and the $740,000 in funding, but it remained out of reach after the funding failed to materialize when the House of Representatives did not consider the measure.
“To come this close to establishing and funding a drug court in Aroostook County only for politics to get in the way is heartbreaking,” Jackson said at the time.
LD 779 allocates funds to the behavioral health office in the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to allow it to contract with an organization to provide pre-trial services at the Aroostook County Drug Treatment Court. It also funds a new assistant district attorney position and the provision of public defense services at the court.
The funding in this bill is scheduled to become available after July 1, 2026.
