The quaint Maine fishing villages that inspired Jessica Fletcher’s beloved Cabot Cove could become dystopian, crime-ridden hellholes like San Francisco or Portland if progressive Maine lawmakers get their way.
Members of the state legislature debated for four hours Wednesday on whether all drugs in the Pine Tree State should be decriminalized.
Under the plan proposed by Democratic Rep. Lydia Crafts, even possession of heroin and cocaine would not be considered a criminal offense. The money spent on enforcing drug laws would instead go to healthcare as part of a so-called ‘harm reduction’ strategy.
Maine’s Democratic Governor Maura Mills says she strongly opposes decriminalization measures.
Crafts’ plan ignores the troubling example of Oregon, which in 2020 became the first state to legalize all drugs. Portland, the largest city in Oregon, is now plagued by drug abuse and homelessness and there are moves to repeal the law.
San Francisco, which largely does not prosecute public drug use thanks to its progressive political leaders, has seen a similar increase in abuse. San Francisco recorded 806 drug overdose deaths last year, the highest level the city has ever seen.
Crafts’ plan looks like it could endanger Maine’s famous coastal villages – including the fictional Cabot Cove – a cozy fishing village where Angela Lansbury’s iconic teacher and crime novelist Jessica Fletcher solved a slew of murders.
Jessica Fletcher – played by Angela Lansbury – is pictured enjoying life in the fictional town of Cabot Cove, Maine. But the quaint Maine fishing villages that inspired it could soon become dystopian hellholes like Portland or San Francisco if progressive lawmakers’ plans to legalize all drugs in the Pine Tree State come to fruition.
Although Murder She Wrote was filmed in California, the series had a cozy Maine vibe that viewers loved — and which may now be threatened by plans to decriminalize cocaine, heroin and fentanyl.
Stonnington, Maine is one of the towns tourists are now flocking to in an attempt to soak up the atmosphere of Cabot Cove – with plans to allow people to openly use drugs likely to derail the atmosphere
A drug user is seen skyrocketing in San Francisco, where drug use is rarely prosecuted
The streets of San Francisco have been plagued by drug abuse for years
Drug users are pictured in downtown Portland, Oregon, in the middle of the day in August
The ’80s and ’90s classic was filmed primarily in Montecito, California, and the harbor used in the series was a set that was part of the Universal Studios theme park.
But the social atmosphere of the mega-hit series was so popular with viewers that many are visiting the real Maine to soak up the atmosphere of Cabot Cove – with the possibility of encountering overt drug use likely to derail such plans.
And the residents of those villages are unlikely to welcome the program Oregon has developed.
Even leading Democratic lawmakers who supported Oregon’s law say they are now open to reviewing it.
Oregon had the highest increase in overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids compared to 2019 and the year before as of June 30 – a thirteenfold increase.
The figure rose from 84 deaths in 2019 to more than 1,100.
Among the next highest were neighboring Washington state, where the estimated number of overdose deaths from synthetic opioids increased sevenfold when comparing the same time periods, CDC data shows.
Maine lawmakers, however, did not seem discouraged.
Angela Lansbury, star of Murder, She Wrote – set in the Maine village of Cabot Cove
Lydia Crafts is behind the bill to decriminalize drugs in Maine. The bill was discussed in a committee on Wednesday
The scale of their state’s drug crisis pales in comparison to that of San Francisco: while the Californian city had 806 fatalities in 2023, the entire state of Maine had 559 in the year to November.
And some Maine political leaders said the time was right to experiment.
“This bill aims to create a statewide, public health-based response to substance use in Maine,” Crafts said in her testimony on Wednesday introducing the bill, according to The Maine Wire.
“Our public health approach to LD 1975 is focused on helping people rebuild their lives through medical intervention, increased connection and social support. Incarceration hinders this goal.”
Lucas John Lanigan, a Republican representing Sanford whose son battled a heroin addiction, said he supported a reconsideration of the current policy.
“We can either continue to bury our heads in the sand or invest in the future of so many who are tormented by addiction and mental health issues,” he testified.
‘We can invest now, otherwise we will pay later. It’s really simple.’
Meagan Sway of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Maine agreed that putting people in jail for drug offenses was not the right move.
“Rather than responding to drug use with punishment, which doesn’t work, LD 1975 would begin to transition our drug policy from incarceration and punishment to a public health-informed framework—a model that focuses on the whole person and one person to see. that offers care, compassion and grace,” she said.
Some Maine politicians are in favor of following in Oregon’s footsteps and legalizing drugs. Users from Portland, Oregon were pictured in broad daylight last year
Officer Donny Mathew of the Portland Police Bureau’s bicycle squad stands next to a person who appears to be unconscious in May 2023
But Reagan Paul, a Republican who represents Winterport, said he supported “investments in education and prevention, access to treatment, support for recovery services and enforcement” — but not decriminalization.
“We must build a system that provides help to those who are willing to accept it and work toward recovery, but we must not enable people to continue dangerous behavior that is harmful to them and all of society,” he said.
Aaron Frey, Maine’s attorney general, said he was concerned that eliminating criminal penalties would “normalize” the use of controlled substances.
“I am concerned that the blanket legalization of drug possession – some of which are highly addictive and at least one of which is under extreme deadline – would normalize the activity, with significant consequences for public safety and public health,” he said.
The committee concluded its debate after four hours of discussion: no debate has yet been scheduled in the Maine statehouse.