We lose nearly 130 people a day to drug overdoses. It is the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, and the loss is felt most acutely by the families left behind. By doing a better job of helping families and their addicted children, we can most effectively reduce these deaths and the accompanying pain and suffering, explains Tom Hedrick, founding member of the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids.
Illicit drugs increasingly are being traded in hidden online marketplaces known as “crypomarkets,” The Wall Street Journal reports.
President Obama on Friday signed the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, which aims to combat opioid addiction. He said the measure does not provide adequate funding, The Hill reports.
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed a bill aimed at combating opioid addiction. The White House said President Obama will sign the legislation, Reuters reports.
Wisconsin Congresswoman Gwen Moore is proposing that wealthy Americans get drug-tested before being able to take advantage of tax benefits, according to NPR.
Some Republicans in the U.S. House and Senate are basing part of their re-election strategies on bills aimed at helping people addicted to opioids, according to The New York Times.
Hillary Clinton this week said she supports a plan by Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia to levy a tax on prescription opioids. Manchin says the tax would raise up to $2 billion annually, which would be used to expand access to opioid addiction treatment.
Some addiction recovery groups say a U.S. House bill, the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Reduction Act, does not focus enough on recovery, The Huffington Post reports. The groups say the House measure, to be introduced Wednesday, is weaker than the Senate version of the bill.
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