Assemblyman Al Stirpe
Al Stirpe
Al Stirpe

“The year is not over yet and already we have surpassed the number of heroin deaths that happened in 2015. Forty-six people have lost their lives as opposed to 44 in 2015. This distressing news drives home what we already know – heroin has stolen far too many lives in this community.

 
“I’ve been fighting to take on the heroin and opioid epidemic and ensure those struggling with addiction receive the necessary treatment and support.
“To limit access to these dangerous drugs, we took some first steps by driving money to start a heroin and opioid treatment program and for safe drug collection programs. We also passed legislation to limit the amount of painkillers that can be prescribed by doctors.

“To help those suffering from drug dependency and those on the road to recovery, I fought to expand insurance coverage for treatment and increased access to treatment centers. But we need to do more. We need more resources and I’ll keep pushing for insurance companies to cover 90 days of inpatient treatment because it’s key to breaking the cycle of addiction.
It’s important to bring the community together so we can continue making strides in tackling addiction. I recently hosted a community roundtable of medical professionals to find solutions to this crisis. I will not sit idly by while our friends, neighbors and loved ones continue to lose their lives to this disease. By coming together, we can begin to make progress in our battle against heroin, reverse the trend and reduce overdoses and deaths.”

By martha

One thought on “New statistics highlight the need to tackle the heroin epidemic head-on”
  1. Harm reduction is what is needed. No more money, time & resources to keep fighting a drug war that’s raged on for decades without any tangible success, at all, & is causing massive amounts of problems all over the country. Harm reduction is what is needed. Policy must be made to stop the drug war with the objective of shutting down the black market. The drug war has failed. The drug war is driving the problems, not fixing them. Decriminalization/legalization is necessary, it needs to be backed up with public health announcements explaining exactly why it is needed. Its not in any way condoning the abuse of addictors, it is done bc the alternative, the drug war, has made things infinitely worse on almost every level, to include making drugs abundantly available to any & all that wants them.
    We need to pull LE out of the drug biz – that will free up a lot of resources currently chasing their collective tails. When the laws create more harm and cause more damage than they prevent, its time to change the laws. The $1 TRILLION so-called war on drugs is a massive big government failure – on nearly every single level. Its way past time to put the cartels & black market drug dealers out of business. Mass incarceration has failed. We cant even keep drugs out of a contained & controlled environment like prison.
    We need the science of addiction causation to guide prevention, treatment, recovery & public policies. Otherwise, things will inexorably just continue to worsen & no progress will be made. Addiction causation research has continued to show that some people (suffering with addiction) have a “hypo-active endogenous opioid/reward system.” This is the (real) brain disease, making addiction a symptom, not a disease itself. One disease, one pathology. Policy must be made reflecting addiction(s) as a health issue.
    The war on drugs is an apotheosis of the largest & longest war failure in history. It actually exposes our children to more harm & risk and does not protect them whatsoever. In all actuality, the war on drugs is nothing more than an international projection of a domestic psychosis. It is not the “great child protection act,” its actually the complete opposite.
    The lesson is clear: Drug laws do not stop people from harming themselves, but they do cause addicts to commit crimes and harm others. We need a new approach that decriminalizes the disease. We must protect society from the collateral damage of addiction and stop waging war on ourselves. We must implement policy that stops this war on ourselves. We need common sense harm reduction approaches desperately. MAT (medication assisted treatment) and HAT (heroin assisted treatment) must be available options. Of course, MJ should not be a sched drug at all.
    Every human being is precious, worthy of love and belonging, and deserves opportunities to fulfill his or her potential regardless of past trauma, mental and emotional anguish, addictive behaviors or mistakes made.

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