On Sept. 17, 2018, the U.S. Senate passed the Opioid Crisis Response Act, legislation that aims to stop the spread of opioid addiction through such actions as preventing fentanyl trafficking and improving access to treatment.
And though the bill, which has bipartisan support, addresses important strategies, association leaders say the legislation is limited in its approach and lacks the funding and urgency needed to reduce overdose deaths.
“While the legislation passed today is a step in the right direction, greater investments are needed to respond to a crisis of this magnitude,” said Arthur C. Evans Jr., CEO of the American Psychological Association, in a press release. “We cannot counter the opioid epidemic without developing an effective, evidence-based substance abuse treatment system. In fact, only about 1 in 10 Americans with a substance use disorder receives adequate treatment, and this statistic won’t change without major new investments in the full spectrum of prevention, treatment and recovery services. We did this for HIV/AIDS, and now we need to do it with opioids.”
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