This, it led to surprising policy outcomes. In indiana, the ivy drug use problem was so pervasive in some communities the state not only had this huge drug problem on its hands with all of the things that go along with that, it had a increase in the kinds of serious diseases that can be spread through people sharing needles. Including hiv that causes aids. In indiana of all places with their very conservative legislature and their very, very, very conservative governor, indiana ended up having to institute a Needle Exchange program. That was both sanctioned by the state and funded by the state. Just because their Public Health crisis around heroin use got so bad. In the state of maine, maine is a state that looks big on the map but has a small population, only 1. 3 Million People in the whole state. The state of maine has had just an incredible problem of people dying from Drug Overdoses last year. Maine has a population slightly bigger than rhode island. 1. 3 million in the state, maine had 272 people die of Drug Overdoses last year. That means just in the state of maine, a person died from a Drug Overdose every 32 hours in that state. All last year. And that was 31 increase over the number of people dying from Drug Overdoses, the previous year. So its a terrible problem and getting much worse very fast. Now, one Life Saving Development though along side this huge spike in heroin use and overdoses, has been the increasing available built of a drug narcan. A last resort way to save somebodys life if they are overdosing. To keep them alive until paramedics get there. If a person is overdosing on opiates. Its not expensive, its not that hard to administer. But it can really be the difference between life and death. Its basically an emergency antido antidote. It has frequently been used to save lives. Take just look at the example of maine and lets take one city in maine. Take portland, maine, and the portland, maine Fire Department. That one first responding agency in that one city in that one state. In 2014 the Portland MaineFire Department administered narcan as an emergency heroin antidote 107 times. In 2014. So like every three days or so they are saving somebodys life with this drug. That was 2014. We dont have the final numbers last year but we know they were using it at a faster pace than the year before that. As heroin use and heroin overdoses have skyrocketed, this little cheap drug narcan has brought back hundreds of people who would probably have otherwise died. Not just in that one state but in that one city. So, last year angus king, the independent senator from the state of maine but previously governor of maine, he wrote to the biggest drug store chain in the state, he wrote to cvs and asked to take steps to make this drug more easily available to people who might need to have access to it in maine. And cvs said they were willing but in order to do it there would have to be a change in state law so they could let pharmacists at stores dispense it more easily without a precipitation. The idea is simple. If youve got a drug user in your life, people in your circle or in your community who are at risk for o. D. Ing, that is a terrible thing. If you can have a dose of narcan on you or in the glove box or accessible in your house, in the awful event Something Like that happens you might have one last chance to keep them alive for a few minutes until the ambulance gets there and they can save them. So, angus king asked this drug store chain to start doing that. The chain said we would love to but there does need to be a change in state law, so the drug store chain requested that the state legislature take it up. The Maine State Legislature for all of its partisanship, its dysfunction like any legislature in the country, they came together around this. And the Legislature Passed a bill that would make narcan much more easily available in the state of maine. Simply so more lives could be saved. All of the medical associations in the state came out in favor of it, all of the Law Enforcement organizations in the state came out in favor of it. It was not a partisan thing. Full speed ahead. And maines governor vetoed it. Now, that is a little bit of an unexpected thing if you take a broad view of it. Something like 30 other states have done this what maine tried to do. Something like 30 other states have taken steps to expand access. It was not like maine was going out on a limb and tried something nobody had done. Lots of other states have done this. Most other states in the country have done this. And maines problem with heroin is as bad or worse than any other states that have done this. But maines governor stepped in after everybody else in the state basically came to consensus on this. At one point one part of passing this, passed unanimously. And everybody agrees that this is a thing that can provably change lives. And the governor steps in and says nope, i wont allow it. Its kind of amazing, right . I mean, maine once again is paying the price for having this particular governor who also makes decisions and says stuff and does stuff that sometimes make it even hard to cover him as a news story. Were about to put on screen what the governor said in response. Some of our viewers who may find it distasteful may want to hit the mute button and turn away for the next 20 seconds or so. Told the reporters senator jackson claims to be for the people but hes the first one to give it to the people without providing vaseline. When he was asked if he realized some people may find that offensive, he is reported to have said good, it ought to because ive been taking it for two years. Only thing i heard if you take plastic bottle put it in a microwave and heated up it gives off a chemical, similar to estrogen, and so i mean, worse case some women might have little beards. These are guys in the name d money, smoothie, 14i69y, these type of guys from connecticut and new york, they come up here, sell their heroin, then go back home. Incidentally, half the time they impregnate a young white girl before they leave. Im not going to apologize to the maine women for that. Because if you go to maine youll see that we are essentially 95 white. If you want to make it racist, go right ahead do whatever you want. Maines republican governor, paula pa paul lepage, so frequently ridiculous i think most of the rest of the country if they know anything about him at all, they think of him as funny, he is essentially a joke and made maine politics into a nationwide joke or at least hes made himself into the punch line about Public Service these days or the Republican Party these days or how about that list of people who endorse Chris Christie this year. I mean right. Paul lepage is sometimes funny. But what he did here, this is different. Because this is the veto message he signed and published and sent to us explaining why he was vetoing this bill on the heroin thing. This bill that would expand access to the over dose reversal drug, this drug that has saved hundreds of lives in his state alone, this drug that has no purpose other than to keep people who are otherwise dying, alive for a few extra minutes, so First Responders can get to them. And they will not die. This is his veto message saying he doesnt want that more available. I saw the veto message quoted in the maine newspapers and though there is a great paper i sort of couldnt believe it so we got the message from the governors oofs and its true. Here is his explanation for why he vetoed the bill. The generic name for narcan, does not truly save lives. It merely extends them until the next overdose. Think about that for a second. He is saying if you overdose, you should not be kept alive. If the there is an option to keep you alive. Because you are probably just going to overdose again. Why bother. Look at that. Narcan does not save lives, it merely extends them. You know what, if you think about it further, i guess we all are going to die some day. So you could really say that about any medical treatment. I mean why treat your infection with penicillin or antibiotics, all thats going to do is extend your life until it ends any way some day. You have a treatable form of cancer why should the state of maine abide you getting treatment, why extend your life when its going to end anyway. Youve been in a car accident infrankly, its a pain in the butt to patch you back together, make sure you dont bleed to keths. That would be extending your life which is after all a finite thing. Why not let it end now. And of course lepage is not making those arguments for anybody else. Only making this why extend your life argument for people whose lives are at risk because of Drug Overdoses. Yuns you are overdosing, if we have the option to save your life, the governor of that state says we as a society would be better off not saving your life. Maine, the state of maine would prefer that you were dead. Well have the option to keep you alive, well choose not to exercise it. Maines governor would prefer you dead. Veto message says hes vetoing access to this overdose antidote because it serves only to perpetuate the circle of addiction, by which he means it serves only to perpetuate the lives of people addicted and he would prefer they die. That would be better for maine. It is i mean, i feel like i have a thick skin when it comes to absorbing information about paul lepage. I feel i have a thick skin about politicians but this slays me. Almost impossible to believe that a politician is making this argument and not just in an off the cuff stupid maybe half drunken kind of remark that they regret later. This is his written statement why he would prefer that some of his constituents should die rather than have their lives saved by a drug that costs about 5 bucks. But hes really just done this. People are using heroin, they are dying every day, and this drug can actually prevent those deaths. It is our responsibility to make sure that its in the hands of people who can use it to save peoples lives. Gideons bill would let more 3e78 have access, to keep it handy in case a friend or loved one o. D. S. There are 30 states that allow pharmacists to do this. This idea that you know, were reinventing the wheel is not true. Governor lepage vetoed the bill stating in part, it doesnt truly save lives, it merely extends them until the next overdose. Pharmacist joe bruno says it does save lives, but that its no cure. This drug, you administer it, is good for about 30 minutes. Just enough time to call 911 and get this person to the hospital. This isnt a you know, a dose of narcan and youll wake up and everythings fine. Thats not how it works. Gideon agrees but says the governors objection is wrong, citing a local woman who wanted the antidote for her own son. If it could save his life 10 times over, if it took 10 times to get him clean, then it would be worth it. Paul lepage is an amazing thing in the state of maine. As of tonight hes also vying for a role at the Republican National convention this summer in cleveland. Maine is holding its Republican State Convention today and tomorrow to pick its delegates for the rnc. Maine has a history of controversy and chaos when it comes to picking delegates for the republican convention. Last time in 2012 you might remember the maine delegation wearing close pins on their noses decorated with lobsters to indicate they were from maine and b, thought the process of the rnc stunk since the national Republican Party in 2012 threw out half the maine delegation for supporting ron paul and instead replaced them with people who supported mitt romney that led to some of the more colorful and aggressive and even tearful screaming confrontations on the floor of the rnc in 2012 and in the convention hallways after, after the maine delegation got thrown out. This year they are picking delegates right now. Ted cruz won the maine caucus last month. Nobody knows how the delegates are going to be picked today and tomorrow. Governor paul lepage, hes going to try to get himself and his wife picked as delegates to the Republican National convention. After initially supporting Chris Christie for president , lepage switched to donald trump. He is opposed to ted cruz getting the nomination because he is a ted cruz birther. He doesnt believe ted cruz is eligible to become president because he was born in canada. So this is a busy and complex time in the process of picking the republican president ial nominee. Whats going on in maine this weekend right now as i speak, is just one indication of the kinds of complex and sometimes sorted and sometimes unbelievable state politics, and state political characters who get themselves dragged into the local process of picking delegates to pick the republican president ial nominee. This happens weekend after weekend in these little state conventions where all local state politics ends up playing a role in this national decision. This weekend they are picking delegates at one level or another in maine, also in utah, next weekend it will be alaska and virginia and california and delaware and arizona. And that whole process of picking all the delegates and all of the local politics that plays in there, thats all taking place among the more high profile big splashy state primaries. Of which we are about to have five on tuesday night. We have polling right now in four of the five states that are going to vote on tuesday. In pennsylvania, donald trump is winning by a mile. In maryland, donald trump is winning by a mile, in connecticut, donald trump winning by a mile. We got our first poll out of delaware. Donald trump is winning by a mile. The only state that is voting on tuesday for which we do not yet have polling is the great state of rhode island. Its a little weird that we dont have polling from rhode island. The polling unit at Brown University said they would have their poll results ready to go last night. But look at this according to the providence journal, Brown University pollsters are having a tough time getting Rhode Islanders to answer questions about the president ial race so now that poll results are not scheduled to come out until noon on sunday. They were supposed to be last night. Quote, the pollsters have never seen this much push back in terms of people being unwilling to do the poll. Being unwilling to answer the pollsters questions. People are so sick and tired of this race they dont want to talk about it. They dont want to hear about it. They want to sit back and drink a beer. I cant blame them, end quote. Says the pollster. Because of the amount of beer drinking or whatever, rhode island pollsters, the people who were going to do the only poll in rhode island, maybe results this weekend, who knows. Lets see who answers their phone when we call. In terms of rhode island Election Officials, they decided to inject suspense. Remember the huge lines in maricopa county, arizona last month, after arizona cut the number of polling locations in that county by 70 , so there were huge long terrible lines that got press coverage. Remember that from arizona last month . In the state of rode island they have also made a decision for this primary on tuesday that they, too, are going to cut the number of polling stations by 70 . Having already seen how well a 70 cut worked in arizona, rhode island decided to do it too instead of 400 plus polling places they are going to open 144 of them on tuesday night. Because yeah, might look like this is a hotly contested president ial yes where more is riding on rhode island in terms of president ial politics and yeah, there might have been record turnout on the republican side in state after state after state all over the country right now but rhode island Election Officials are apparently banking on the idea that people in that state just dont care. They cant even be bothered to be polled. They are all drinking a beer. Well know soon enough, right. If you live in rhode island, i want to tell you, they are cutting the number of polling places you can vote on tuesday night by 70 . If you are planning on voting on tuesday, bring one of those portable chairs maybe. Or maybe a cooler full of beer to sit on. Maybe bring a tent. Well be right back. You live life your way. We can help you retire your way, too. Financial guidance while youre mastering life. From chase. So you can. Unless you have allergies. Le youre mastering life. Flonase is the first and only nasal spray approved to relieve both itchy, watery eyes and congestion. No other nasal allergy spray can say that. Go ahead, embrace those beautiful moments. Flonase changes everything. Happy friday night. We have a big show. Theres details ahead on the big event that chris hayes and i are doing on monday night. Very exciting. Weve got a happy slightly drunken celebration of a Great American due to come up the end of the show. Theres lots going to happen in this hour. Stay with us. But it is going to take a total team effort to get through all these shows now are you with me . Three, two, one. Watchathon big is back. Xfinity watchathon week now until april 24. The greatest collection of shows free with xfinity on demand. I tabut with my back paines, i couldnt sleep and get up in time. Then i found aleve pm. Aleve pm is the only one to combine a safe sleep aid plus the 12 hour pain relieving strength of aleve. Im back. Aleve pm for a better am. And so. Even more efficient t willand save shoppers money. Genius oh no. Charlene . No, no. Shh. At jet. Com, were always looking for money saving innovations. Just over two hours ago, about two hours and 20 minutes ago, 7 00 eastern time, the legendary Radio Station called the current in the twin cities area in minnesota started doing something that im here to tell you, the whole country really appreciates. What they are doing is playing 26 straight hours of prince. And i dont mean theyre playing purple rain and 1999 on repeat for 26 hours. What the current is doing in minneapolis right now is playing his entire