Mental Health Experts: Punishment Not the Way to Stop Overdoses
Posted August 11, 2017 06:55 am | Public News Service
TALLAHASSEE, FL – President Donald Trump is vowing to take a law-and-order approach to combating the nation's worsening opioid epidemic. But mental health experts say that strategy ignores key truths about the problem.
In comments this week, the President told reporters,
"Strong law enforcement is absolutely vital to having a
drug-free society."
Rebecca Farley David, vice president for policy and
advocacy at the National Council on Behavioral Health,
said prevention and treatment are the bigger keys to
success. She noted that for many people, addiction
starts at home.
"So often it happens because of legally prescribed pain
medications, either that were legally prescribed for
that individual or someone else in their family, and
they had access to the pills," Farley David said.
She
said illicit use of street drugs like heroin may follow
on the heels of an addiction to pain medication, but she
stressed that drug enforcement is only part of a much
more complex picture.
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Earlier this year, Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared the
opioid epidemic a public health emergency and gave the
green light for first responders to start distributing
the anti-overdose treatment Naloxone.
Farley David said she believes Health and Human Services
Director Tom Price is saying the right things about the
nature and causes of the opioid crisis, but she said
action needs to be taken soon. She pointed to policy
changes in Medicaid that could provide relief to
thousands.
The problem with Medicaid, she said, is simple.
"It doesn't permit payment for most residential
substance-use treatment, due to an outdated payment
prohibition built into the program," Farley David said.
"That needs to change."
She argued that prevention, treatment and recovery
should be the three primary focus areas to curb the
opioid epidemic. In 2015, nearly 3,900 Floridians died
from opioid overdoses, according to the Florida
Department of Law Enforcement.
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