Fentanyl has changed what is at stake when someone you love is using. A planned drug intervention gives your Maine family a way to act now, together.
A drug intervention is a structured meeting, prepared with a professional interventionist, in which the people closest to someone who is using ask them to accept treatment that day. We travel to families throughout Maine, including Portland, and planning starts right away, because with today's drug supply waiting carries real risk.
Court-ordered addiction treatment. In limited cases, under Maine's general mental health commitment law (34-B M.R.S. 3801(5) and 3864).
Overdose Good Samaritan law. Yes (17-A M.R.S. 1111-B).
Naloxone. Maine's OPTIONS program (Overdose Prevention Through Intensive Outreach, Naloxone, and Safety) offers naloxone information and a liaison in every county (source).
State agency. Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Behavioral Health.
State treatment line. OPTIONS county liaisons and Maine's Treatment Connection.
Emergency. Call 911 if a loved one is in immediate danger. Call or text 988 for an emotional crisis.
Maine recorded 483 drug overdose deaths in 2024, an age-adjusted rate of 35.2 per 100,000, according to the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (source). Before anything else, keep your loved one alive.
If your loved one is in immediate danger, call 911. If they are in emotional crisis, call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
Maine has a Good Samaritan overdose law (17-A M.R.S. 1111-B) that offers some legal protection to people who call for help during an overdose. Its protections have conditions, but calling 911 is always the right move.
Naloxone (Narcan) reverses an opioid overdose, not stimulants. See our fentanyl family guide.
Maine's Good Samaritan law protects the caller, anyone giving aid (including naloxone) and the person overdosing, and also shields them from probation revocation, while responders are at the scene (source).
Each one shapes the medical side of detox differently.
In limited cases. Maine's general mental health commitment law sets out a court process that can order treatment when strict legal conditions are met. It is a backstop, not a shortcut: a planned intervention is usually the faster and more lasting route, and a Maine attorney can confirm how the law applies to your family.
The court route here is Maine's general mental health commitment law (34-B M.R.S. 3801(5) and 3864). Maine has no separate addiction commitment law, but its definition of a mentally ill person includes effects of drugs or alcohol. Any person may start the process; initial court commitment lasts up to four months. Laws change, so confirm the current rules with a Maine attorney before you rely on them.
See the full steps, how fast someone leaves for treatment and our cost guide.
The state agency that oversees substance use treatment is Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Behavioral Health. For treatment searches, Maine offers OPTIONS county liaisons and Maine's Treatment Connection.
Yes. Maine has a Good Samaritan overdose law (17-A M.R.S. 1111-B) that offers some legal protection to people who call for help. Its protections have conditions, but calling 911 is always the right move.
We begin planning right away by phone or video, and travel to families throughout Maine, including Portland. Call (850) 563-9776 to talk through realistic timing.
One confidential conversation with a professional interventionist. No pressure, no obligation. We'll help you find the right next step for your family.
