Wednesday, August 23, 2017

NCAD: The opioid crisis is a political football, and that’s not good

NCAD: The opioid crisis is a political football, and that’s not good
August 22, 2017
by Julie Miller, Editor in Chief

While addiction remains a bipartisan issue, support for treatment and recovery is not guaranteed, according to Andrew Kessler, JD, principal of consulting firm Slingshot Solutions. Speaking at the National Conference on Addiction Disorders in Baltimore, Kessler noted the attention policymakers are giving the opioid crisis.

Federal and state legislatures have moved forward on funding and programs for opioid treatment and recovery, but resources are still quite scarce. One point of context to consider is the fact that not every addiction is an opioid addiction—deaths related to alcohol misuse still outpace opioids, and in some areas, methamphetamine is on the rise, Kessler said. It also begs the question of how treatment would be skewed for those with other health issues, including hepatitis C and HIV.

No comments:

Post a Comment