Presidential Candidate Proposes Drug Plan

Posted by azdrugrehabctr on September 10, 2015 under Addiction Trends, AZ Drug Rehab News | Comments are off for this article

As part of the 2016 race for the presidency, Hillary Clinton has submitted her plan to target the growing drug problem in the United States. After listening to concerned citizens in New Hampshire and Iowa, Clinton has vowed to wage a strong attack against drug use and abuse. Her plan is to use $10 billion to increase drug prevention efforts locally, increase the treatment options for addicts and arm more first responders with life-saving doses of naloxone for those in the midst of an opiate overdose. Additionally, Clinton wants to spend part of the budget on further education for health providers to improve their skills in spotting and preventing early addiction signs.

“It’s time we recognize that there are gaps in our health care system that allow too many to go without care – and invest in treatment. It’s time we recognize that our state and federal prisons, were 65 percent of inmates meet medical criteria for substance use disorders, are no substitute for proper treatment – and reform our criminal justice system,” explained Clinton in her open letter to voters.

A major part of Clinton’s proposal is to treat addicts that are in prison. Currently, thousands of addicts are incarcerated for drug-related offenses and not receiving treatment for their problem. It has been found that that the recidivism rate for these offenders is incredibly high, as most of them go right back to their drug of choice after being released from prison. Because they are not receiving the proper treatment while in prison, addicts are bouncing back and forth from prison to the streets. This is a cycle that costs taxpayers millions of dollars and many believe can be addressed by solving the drug dependence that gets ignored while behind bars.

Clinton also developed an incentive for state governments to create more treatment options for addicts. For every $1 million spent by the state, Hillary proposes to grant $4 million towards the state’s efforts. While it is still early on in the presidential race, it is important that candidates are acknowledging the drug problem that has affected so many families throughout the country.

Drug addiction has been a focal point for several other candidates as well, and will be interesting to see how much of their platforms will revolve around the overall health of our nation and helping people inside our own country.

Substance Abuse Issues Get Presidential Candidate’s Attention

Posted by azdrugrehabctr on April 23, 2015 under Addiction Trends, Opiate Abuse, Prescription Drugs | Comments are off for this article

The 2016 race to become the next President of the United States has officially begun with multiple hopefuls announcing their candidacy recently. Hillary Clinton is one of those seeking the office of Commander in Chief. As she began a tour throughout the U.S., she admitted that she was unaware that substance abuse issues were so extreme in the country. She explained that she understood that drug use was a continuing problem throughout the nation, but up until she began meeting with constituents, had no idea that people felt so strongly and that so many people were affected by the drug epidemic in the United States.

“I want to hear from people of New Hampshire what’s on their minds. I have to tell you, before I went to Iowa last week I wasn’t aware of the depth of feeling people had about substance abuse issues, so here again, I heard it in New Hampshire, so I want people to know that I’m listening,” explained Clinton during her stop to New Hampshire. Like other candidates, she will be covering areas that are considered key for primary elections.

Clinton discussed that she wants to see more resources allocated for people to be able to get the treatment they need. There may be more things that can be done to stop the drug problem in our country from escalating to epidemic proportions though. Educating doctors and healthcare providers that prescription narcotics are not the only solution to pain management and helping them understand the signs of drug abuse and drug seeking behavior are all important topics to tackle.

Hillary Clinton went on to say that she wants to make drug abuse and mental health problems a serious focus of her campaign. Will other candidates step up to speak in favor of substance abuse treatment and prevention? They should take some cues from the fact that there are record numbers of overdose-related deaths in our country. Saving lives is way more important than foreign trade or economic issues.