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.