“Drug overdoses now take more lives every year than traffic accidents.” President Obama
This past week President Obama announced his plan to budget $1.1 billion to expand treatment for opioid and heroin addiction in America. The President sees this epidemic as a priority for his Administration, and he implores Congress to take action on this budgeted line item. In fact, in 2014 the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), presented some starling facts to the United States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control. Here they stated that “the abuse of and addiction to opioids such as heroin, morphine, and prescription pain relievers is a serious global problem that affects the health, social, and economic welfare of all societies. It is estimated that between 26.4 million and 36 million people abuse opioids worldwide, with an estimated 2.1 million people in the United States suffering from substance use disorders related to prescription opioid pain relievers in 2012 and an estimated 467,000 addicted to heroin.”
Thus President Obama wants to invest heavily in mitigating this epidemic, and plans to allocate the $1.1 billion in pursuit of three primary objectives: (1) ensure that all Americans who want treatment can get the help they need; (2) expand access to treatment providers; and (3) expand access to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use. Under the umbrella of these three over-arching objectives there are a plethora of key sub-points as to how to use these funds and execute on mitigating opioid and heroin addiction.
A primary objective is education. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is working to stem the overprescribing of opioids by providing prescribers with access to the tools and education they need to make informed decisions. As well, HHS continues to work to better educate providers and patients about safe pain management.
The budget also calls for more research. HHS is launching more than a dozen new scientific studies on opioid abuse and pain treatment to help fill knowledge gaps and further improve the ability to fight this epidemic.
The budget calls for more treatment. HHS, through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, is working to increase access to medication-assisted treatment and associated behavioral health supports for tens of thousands of people with opioid use disorders.
Also essential is expansion of initiatives in Rural America. Last week, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced an allocation of $1.4 million for five Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) grant awards in Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia to help rural areas address the opioid epidemic, with plans to add more this summer. In addition to DLT investments, USDA Rural Development has funded rural hospitals and health care clinics from its Community Facilities and Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Programs. These projects provide communities with much-needed services to help address health care, including overdose and opioid use disorder.
Finally, the budget includes efforts to improve Housing Support for Americans in Recovery. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), in partnership with the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness and HHS, is identifying best practices to support individuals using medication-assisted treatment in programs funded through HUD’s Homelessness Assistance Grants. HUD also will work to help individuals with prescription opioid or heroin use disorders with housing to support recovery.
As a teen in America it is hard not be aware of the trend among teens to try heroin. I read about the prevalence of use at parties, I see images on television, and I even know a family friend who is addicted. I believe that the combination of education, research, and treatment being proposed will be essential to mitigating the usage of these detrimental drugs. Just as Moms Against Drunk Driving (MADD) successfully educated America on the dangers of drunk driving, so too will these efforts educate America on the danger of opioids and heroin.
For more information, go to: GO.WH.GOV/OPIODS
