Opioid Commission Member Calls Admin Effort A 'Sham', But Cities Are Stepping Up

What’s the story?

Democratic Rep. Patrick Kennedy (MA), a member of the president's Opioid Commission, in an interview with CNN, called the effort both a "sham" and a “charade” because of the lack of funding that has been committed to the crisis.

Kennedy, along with the other five members of the panel, spent months meeting with people on the front lines of the opioid crisis. They presented a report in August, calling the crisis a national emergency, which Bertha Madras, another Commission member, verified the president never responded to directly.

President Trump did declare the opioid crisis a public health emergency in October, for 90 days. That designation would have expired January 23, but Acting Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Eric Hargan renewed it for another 90 days.

The declaration freed up $57,000 of federal funds to fight the epidemic, and the president pledged his third quarter salary, $100,000, to the Department of Health and Human Services to help fight the crisis.

The funds necessary to mount a "meaningful effort", however, according to Kennedy are much, much higher, and without them any declaration means nothing:

"The emergency declaration has accomplished little because there's no funding behind it. You can't expect to stem the tide of a public health crisis that is claiming over 64,000 lives per year without putting your money where your mouth is."

Madras, in contrast, was slightly more hopeful, pointing to the involvement of White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, which signals "executive backing" for the effort.

Some cities aren’t waiting for the federal government, though, and are introducing harm reduction strategies to fight the crisis head on. Philadelphia announced Tuesday that it will become the second city in the country to open a supervised, safe injection site, reports Buzzfeed.

The facility will provide clean needles and space for people who inject illicit drugs to shoot up. If an overdose occurs, trained staff can administer naloxone, which reverses the overdose. The facility will also test for HIV, provide wound care, and refer users to substance abuse treatment.

Seattle has also approved a site, and San Francisco, Ithaca, Denver, and New York City are also considering programs. All, including Philadelphia, have to face pushback from state officials who oppose harm reduction techniques, but believe the model saves lives and government money. Philadelphia estimates that preventing overdoses will save between $12.5 million and $75 million annually.

What do you think?

Do you think, like Kennedy, that the federal government should be committing significantly more money to fighting the opioid crisis, or do you think that should be left largely to state and local governments? Do you support harm reduction strategies like the supervised injection site being planned in Philadelphia or not? What do you think should be done about this crisis?

Tell us in the comments what you think, then use the Take Action button to tell your reps!

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— Asha Sanaker

(Photo Credit: Wikimedia / Creative Commons)