According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, 13% of budget expenditures in state government alone go to dealing with the consequences of untreated addiction. Yet, nationally, only about one-half of one percent of state spending is on treatment.
Every little bit of money helps agencies like recovery centers for women in Maine.
LD 1725, “An Act To Modernize the Alcohol Tax by Imposing It on a Per Drink Basis,” raises the alcohol tax to the level that amounts to about “a dime a drink” for almost all alcohol (it is not paid per drink but by volume by the retailer/distributor). Sponsored by Representative Christopher Barstow (D-Gorham), the proposed bill raises about $45 – 50 million. The money goes to Maine’s Office of Substance Abuse for the following:
- 25% to prevention and treatment programs
- 5% to afterschool programs
- 70% to local communities or counties for enforcement
The Public Hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, April 25th at 1pm in the Maine State House, room 127 in front of the Joint Committee on Taxation.
