President Obama Takes Action On Heroin And Painkiller Epidemic
President Obama announced in Atlanta on Tuesday that his administration is taking new steps to fight the opioid addiction problem being faced across the country, according to CNN.
The president is attending the National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit, which is being moderated by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, according to the Boston Herald.
President Obama’s plan includes expanding the amount of medication-assisted treatment available to people suffering from opioid addiction, which includes people who are addicted to drugs like heroin, Vicodin, or OxyContin. Medications like methadone or buprenorphine can help people slowly get off opioids without facing the full effects of a withdrawal.
The president also announced that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is expanding mental health and drug addiction treatment options for people who have Medicaid, according to The Hill. That plan will give 23 million Americans the same mental health and drug addiction treatment options available to private health insurance users.
President Obama proposed $1.1 billion in spending to attack the opioid epidemic last month, including “$920 million to support cooperative agreements with States to expand access to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorders,” the White House said in a press release at the time.
The president’s announcement includes $120 million worth of grants for fighting opioid addiction.
President Obama has explained that opioid addiction caused nearly 29,000 deaths in 2014. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) claims people abusing fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, has increased sharply in the past couple years. Heroin use has also increased to a concerning degree.
Joining the president at the conference is Justin Luke Riley, a founding member of Young People in Recovery, a grassroots organization that helps young people dealing with addiction. President Obama went on Facebook to thank the group for its efforts.
“This epidemic is harming too many Americans and their families. But we know—and your lives affirm—that treatment works and recovery is possible,” President Obama wrote. “That’s why my Administration is working to make sure that everyone who wants treatment can get it. And it’s why I want to thank you all for sharing your stories. Because what you’re doing couldn’t be more important. You’re helping so many Americans—folks you’ll probably never meet—to keep fighting.”
President Obama’s change to medication-assisted treatment rules makes it so doctors can now prescribe buprenorphine to up to 200 people, which is twice as many as was previously allowed. Some have expressed concern that buprenorphine or methadone could get in the wrong hands and be abused, according to CNN, but President Obama’s plan is simply focused on getting as many people treated as possible.
Congress actually has bipartisan support for facing the opioid problem, according to the Washington Post. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., drafted a bill called the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, or CARA, that would provide education on opioid addiction across the country and attempt to reduce the prescribing of opioid drugs. President Obama’s own advisers have voiced support for it.
The CDC and the Food and Drug Administration have also announced new policies for cutting the amount of opioids prescribed across the country, according to The Hill.
Opioid addiction has been at the forefront of President Obama’s focus on drug policy, and this growing problem will surely also need to be addressed by the next president.
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