‘You Can’t Hate Up Close’: How Personal Connections To Opioid Crisis Change How Lawmakers Address It
No one is being spared from the opioid epidemic -- including the families and loved ones of members of Congress.
The Hill:
Opioid Crisis Takes Personal Toll On Washington
Deaths involving opioids have been rising since 1999. They increased nearly 28 percent from 2015 to 2016, an increase largely driven by a synthetic opioid packing up to 50 times more power than heroin. An estimated 115 people are dying of an opioid-related overdose every day. When members of Congress return to their districts, they say they hear first-hand how painkillers, heroin and fentanyl are wrecking lives — and that’s resulted in a sea change in attitudes about drug abuse. (Roubein, 4/16)
And in other news from Capitol Hill —
The Baltimore Sun:
Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, Sen. Elizabeth Warren Plan Sweeping Legislation To Combat Opioid Crisis
With drug overdose deaths ravaging communities across the country, Rep. Elijah Cummings of Baltimore and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts are planning to introduce legislation Wednesday that would require $10 billion a year in federal funding to combat the opioid crisis. Modeled off 1990’s Ryan White Act — which provided billions in federal money to combat the AIDS crisis — the Cummings and Warren are proposing a similar program to address the drug overdoses which are claiming lives in record numbers. The program would send federal help directly to local and state governments to provide treatment services. (Broadwater, 4/17)
