Bills
| 3.23.22

Does America Need to Reassess How it Handles Opioid Addictions? (S. 524)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is S. 524?

(Updated May 14, 2021)

This bill was enacted on July 22, 2016

This bill aims to stop opioid and heroin addictions by reforming law enforcement strategies, reassessing prevention tactics, and expanding evidence-based treatment. It would develop education programs about prescription pain medications and addictions to them. It would also offer grants to state and local level organizations with similar goals.

Under this bill, the Dept. of Justice (DOJ) would be directed to offer grants to:

  • States, local governments, and nonprofit groups that understand addiction as a disease, work to prevent opioid and heroin abuse through education, and promote treatment and recovery;

  • Organizations that have worked on community-wide strategies to address local drug crises;

  • States, local governments, Indian tribes, and nonprofit groups that offer treatment alternatives to incarceration for people who would otherwise be in the juvenile or criminal justice system;

  • State, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies that try to prevent overdoses through demonstration programs. Additional grants would be available for providing medication assisted treatment programs, prescription medication disposal sites, and educational programs for incarcerated offenders;

  • Veteran treatment court programs and their peer to peer services for qualified veterans. Other programs that provide treatment, rehabilitation, legal, and transitional services to incarcerated veterans could also receive grants;

  • States interested in preparing a comprehensive plan for and implementing an integrated opioid abuse response initiative. State substance abuse and criminal justice agencies could get funding to jointly address: the use of opioids and heroin among pregnant and parenting female offenders, to promote public health, family permanence, and general well-being.

An interagency task force would be established, made up of officials from the Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and other stakeholder groups. This task force would develop best practices for pain management and the prescription of pain medication. The task force would then outline a strategy for disseminating this information and report to Congress.

HHS would establish a program to identify collateral consequences for people with drug convictions and in treatment for a substance abuse disorder, and whether those consequences prevent those individuals from resuming their personal and professional lives. The Dept. of Education would also be directed to remove questions about convictions for the possession or sale of illegal drugs from federal student loan applications.

Argument in favor

Dealing with opioid and heroin abuse requires a multi-faceted strategy — including preventive education, reforms for prescribing pain medication, and treating addiction. This bill does all that, and lays out a plan that involves stakeholders at the federal, state, and local level.

Argument opposed

Opioid and heroin addiction are problems that can’t be sufficiently mitigated through the best efforts of stakeholders at the federal, state, and local level. The federal government would be better served to focus these resources on one aspect of the problem, like education.

Impact

People dealing with addiction to opioids or heroin, or who have been convicted of selling or possessing drugs and are in treatment; juvenile and criminal justice centers; relevant local, state, and tribal agencies; and relevant federal agencies.

Cost of S. 524

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) cited the toll that addiction has taken in his home state, and the need for increased efforts towards prevention and recovery:

“In Rhode Island, over 200 people died from drug overdoses last year, while many others took great strides to overcome their addiction and work toward recovery. This legislation identifies specific steps that will help us combat addiction and support those in recovery, and provides tools needed for states and local governments — in coordination with law enforcement, educators, and others — to take them. It's a comprehensive approach to a problem that demands our full attention.”

Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), the lead cosponsor of this bill, praised the "bottom up" strategy that "supports long-term recovery by connecting prevention and education efforts with treatment programs."

Currently, this bill has 15 cosponsors, six of whom are Republicans while the remaining nine are Democrats. Its House counterpart has the bipartisan support of 22 lawmakers , including 12 Democrats and 10 Republicans. 

Groups like the American Correctional Association, the American Psychological Association, and the DEA Educational Foundation — among others — have expressed support for this legislation.


Of Note: According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, there are 1.9 million Americans who are abusing or dependent on prescription opioids, and another 517,000 who are addicted to heroin. Based on a 2004 survey, nearly half of all federal inmates sought treatment for drug addiction while incarcerated, while the proportion of state inmates who did the same was slightly lower at 40 percent.


Media:

Summary by Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: Flickr user The.Comedian)