‘It Fuels Out-Of-Control Crime’: Republican LePage Slams Opponent for Supporting Crack Pipe Distribution

Elections

Democrat Janet Mills is ‘fueling Maine’s crime epidemic,’ says former governor Paul LePage

Patrick Hauf • September 29, 2022 4:25 pm

A Republican candidate in one of the country’s most competitive gubernatorial elections is slamming his Democratic opponent for supporting the distribution of free crack pipes to addicts, arguing that the state’s so-called harm reduction facilities are fueling crime.

The broadside came during former governor Paul LePage’s campaign speech Wednesday, in which the the former Republican governor criticized his successor, Janet Mills (D.), whom he is challenging at the ballot box in November, for promoting Maine Access Points, a taxpayer-funded harm reduction group that in July provided a dozen free crack pipes to a Washington Free Beacon reporter. Mills’s drug policies, LePage said, have contributed to a violent crime spike that has seen shootings in Portland more than double since last year.

“Think about it: When you hand out free crack pipes, there is something that goes into it,” said LePage, who cited a Free Beacon report that documented a network of harm reduction facilities that distribute free crack pipes and needles across the state. “That something is illegal, dangerous, and it fuels—let me repeat—it fuels out-of-control crime. Janet Mills is literally fueling Maine’s crime epidemic.”

Former Maine governor Paul LePage

During her tenure as governor, Mills has touted support for harm reduction initiatives and launched a program in 2020, Overdose Prevention Through Intensive Outreach, Naloxone, and Safety, that directs drug users to Maine Access Points to “get the supplies you need to use safely.” LePage noted that Maine Access Points only received $14,915 in government grants in 2018—the last year of his two-term run as governor—but jumped to $716,073 in 2019 after Mills took office. It is unclear what portion of this increase in funds came from the state government or local cities. Mills’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Mills’s support for harm reduction initiatives has come amid a surge in crime in the Pine Tree State. Police in Portland, the state’s largest city, said they responded to 42 shootings

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