Maine Republican gubernatorial candidate Paul LePage says the policies of incumbent Democratic Gov. Janet Mills on the opioid epidemic are not working, and he can do better.LePage called a news conference in Portland’s Deering Oaks, on Wednesday, next to a pond that was drained to find a gun used in a homicide three weeks ago, but after briefly mentioning the city’s spike in shootings this year, he pivoted to talking about drugs.LePage said, "Janet Mills has touted her creation of a state government program on substance abuse, although overdose deaths have reached a new high under her programs."Mills has budgeted $110 million for treatment and recovery, appointed the state's first director of opioid response, started programs to connect people with substance abuse disorder to services and jobs, and expanded distribution of the overdose-reverseing medication, Narcan.But fatal drug deaths have risen from 354 in LePage’s last year in office, 2018, to 504 in 2020, and are on pace for 660 this year, after 330 fatalities were recorded from January to June, an 86% increase in the annual death toll, according to the latest figures from the Maine Drug Data Hub, which Mills launched with the Maine Attorney General and the University of Maine.“As Governor, I made the treatment of substance abuse and specifically opioid addiction a priority,” LePage said, "I believe in a compassionate response to those who face drug addiction."But he opposes distribution of drug devices and criticized state support of needle exchange programs.The Mills administration calls them an evidence-based harm reduction strategy endorsed by the American Medical Association."Why we do that is to decrease the numbers of HIV and Hepatitis C," Courtney Gary-Allen, the organizing director of the Maine Recovery Advocacy Project, said in an interview. "Harm reduction initiatives help to ensure that people who are using drugs are safe while they do it as well as that they can stay alive."LePage criticized the approach of the Maine Department of Corrections during the Mills years to its 60% of inmates with substance abuse disorder, 45% with opioid addiction.LePage said, "Janet Mills scrapped the idea of detox beds," referring to a 2016 law he signed financing a $150 renovation of Windham Correctional Center, where LePage envisioned setting aside 200 new beds for inmates with drug addiction or mental health issues.Instead, with 800 empty beds systemwide, the department has upgraded the facilities and programming at the medium security prison in Windham, while giving 1,100 inmates across the state's seven adult prisons comprehensive treatment and services since June 2019."Really the gold standard isn't about beds, it's about normalization," MDOC Commissioner Randy Liberty told WMTW after a tour of the renovated Windham prison last week. "We don't need to be building new beds. We need to do well with the beds that we have." MDOC Deputy Commissioner Ryan Thornell told WMTW that two-thirds of those receiving medication-assisted treatment, counseling, and services in prison have continued with their plan in the community at least three months after their release. Of those who didn't stick to their plan, Thornell said on Wednesday, six died of an overdose in 2020, or 1.2% of the state total, and 12 fatally overdosed in 2021, or 1.9% of the 627 who died last year.LePage reiterated his view that someone suffering an overdose should get a life-saving dose of Narcan for free, the first time, but be billed for it if an overdose happens again. Lepage said, “If you pay for drugs, you got to start paying for Narcan after the first dose.”Mills spokeswoman Lindsay Crete said with expanded distribution of Narcan, 93% of people in Maine who experience an overdose survive.Crete said in an email, "The governor believes that every life is worth saving, and her approach is to invest in prevention, to keep Maine people with substance use disorders alive, and to provide them with treatment options that can put them on the long-term path to recovery."Gary-Allen, a Democrat who serves on the Augusta City Council, is also in recovery herself.“I think in Maine we value life more than whether someone can pay for a dose of medication,” Gary-Allen said. “I think that ex-Governor LePage is completely out of touch with what we actually need on the front lines of the opioid crisis."