Millions of dollars are set aside to fight drug addiction

Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) are seeking to pass the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2014. They want to expand the resources and research that goes into battling the problem of addiction, which millions of Americans suffer from. They recognize that finding ways to decrease drug addiction is a complex and far-reaching problem, and that more sophisticated treatments need to be developed.

They especially want to address opioid usage, which has become a popular drug for youths to become dependent on. The act also emphasizes starting drug prevention early, and targeting teens and young adults to prevent them from developing addictions.

The Men Behind The Act

Rob Portman and Sheldon Whitehouse have united to try to get this act passed. Rob Portman is the senator of Ohio and was previously a lawyer before becoming part of the Senate. He has become active in combatting drugs because of what he notes is the blight of unregulated drugs in Ohio. He also is particularly concerned with keeping young people from using synthetic drugs.

Sheldon Whitehouse is the senator of Rhode Island and a former United State Attorney. He also has a background in law, and has worked extensively for Rhode Island reforming corruption and helping the health of the citizens. He has shown dedication in pursuing environmental and drug reform initiatives. And Whitehouse, like Portman, has also stated that Rhode Island has a problem with drug-related fatalities.

Main Goals Of The Act

The main goals of the Comprehensive Addiction And Recovery Act of act 2014 fall into some specific categories. They want to target prevention, which means expanding on educational initiatives that will target young people and others who may be high-risk for opioid addiction. Drugs that are of the most concern include:

• Heroin
• Vicodin
• Hydrocodone
• Codeine

Due to the rising epidemic of people overdosing and becoming addicted to prescription drugs, the act seeks to enact stricter limits and systems to keep closer track of the many people who use prescription painkillers. And for people who are already addicted, the act wants to expand the resources that are available to them so that they have assistance in combatting their addiction.

And besides addressing prevention and prescription drug abuse, the act also wants to focus on helping people who have already been jailed or otherwise accused of drug addiction. More resources and research would be planned to help those incarcerated or already deeply addicted, to produce more advanced and sophisticated treatments for individuals. More understanding is sought about the best ways to help those who are already addicted.

The act also seeks to increase the distribution of naloxone, particularly to first responders or other professionals when someone’s life is in imminent danger. Naloxone has been used successfully in the past to counteract the effects of opioids on the central nervous system. Naloxone has become an important drug to have whenever someone has suffered from an opioid overdose. By making naloxone more readily available to law enforcement and to medical professionals, it may help save people’s lives in the long run.

And, finally, another area that the act wants to focus on is finding ways to encourage people to dispose of unwanted prescription drugs. The number of disposal sites that drugs can be dropped off would also be increased. This could give people extra incentive to rid themselves of prescription drugs that can be abused or fall into the wrong hands.

Likelihood Of The Recovery Act Passing

The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2014 is very ambitious, and seeks to greatly facilitate the quality of treatment for opioid addiction. The act is seeking 80 million dollars in funds in research and treatment. But according to govtrack.us the act has only a 13% chance of success of being fully passed.