Issue Position: Tackling the Opioid Addiction Problem

Issue Position

Addiction and overdose deaths have reached alarming levels, in our communities and across the country. Tedra recognizes the need to abandon failed strategies of the "War on Drugs" and supports a range of effective approaches to turn the tide on this epidemic.

Tedra's vision

Ensure that a range of effective addiction treatment services are available on demand to all residents of the district
Ensure that first responders have the resources, training and tools (such as Narcan, the opiate overdose reversal drug) they need to handle emergencies
Train health care providers to be fully aware of the risks associated with opioid drugs and to prescribe them in a more responsible manner
Hold drug manufacturers accountable for misleading medical providers and the understating the dangers of their products to the public
Replace ineffective punitive approaches (such as the War on Drugs) and facile prevention programs (such as Just Say No) with programs that deal frankly with prevention and humanely with recovery

Turning vision to action

Increase Recovery Support Services that help people entering recovery stay in recovery
Fund and promote effective prevention programs at the universal, selective, and indicated (high risk) levels.
Support therapeutic and innovative criminal justice approaches for addicts, such as Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) and Police Assisted Addiction Recovery Initiative (PAARI)
Provide financial assistance to rural communities overwhelmed by the cost of Narcan

While addiction is a disease that will always be with us, the current drug crisis is a solvable problem.

Related policy points

Expand access to affordable health insurance coverage
Increase funding for recovery centers, which have inexcusably long waiting lists
Expand job training programs for recovering addicts, especially those that have been incarcerated
Expand access to evidence-based Medication Assisted Therapies to all residents

Why Tedra?

Tedra believes that through compassionate, results-based interventions, bolstered by meaningful education programs for the public an health care providers, the addiction epidemic can be controlled. She is committed to supporting policies focused on prevention and treatment rather than punishment.

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