Substance Use-Disorder Prevention That Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, I want to thank my colleagues in this body for their hard work and their true bipartisan efforts to address the opioid and drug crisis in the United States. The legislation before us will help to combat an epidemic that touches the lives of almost every person in our country.
In Montana opioid overdoses have claimed the lives of 700 people since 2000. From 2013 to 2014, 42 percent of all drug-related deaths were caused by opioids. With easier access and a larger supply on the street, we are finding opioids in the hands of more and more people. It is tearing families apart. It is devastating our communities.
While we must focus on combating the opioid crisis, we must also continue to address a related but separate epidemic that is wreaking havoc in Montana and in many other States; that is, the methamphetamine epidemic.
In Montana, meth is destroying families and communities and disproportionately impacting our Tribes. In fact, we have seen a 415- percent increase in meth cases from 2011 to 2017, and a 375-percent increase in meth-related deaths in that same timeframe.
To put this in perspective, in 2013, law enforcement seized 40 pounds of meth. In 2017, that number more than quadrupled to 188 pounds.
Almost all meth in Montana is smuggled across the southern border. We have seen a dramatic increase of that drug flowing from Mexico into our communities.
Meth is linked to more violent crimes and robberies than any other drug. Meth is highly addictive. It is destructive; it destroys the body both inside and out.
We are seeing sad story after story on the effects and impacts of meth and drug use in Montana making headlines. In fact, just last week, a man was charged with leaving a baby in the woods near Lolo Hot Springs. He admitted he was high on meth and bath salts. According to reports, he left a 5-month-old in the woods because ``he grew tired of carrying it.''
While this is a despicable and horrible story, this is just one of many we are seeing across Montana. I am thankful--I am thankful for those on the ground in Montana for diligently working to combat this crisis, including our very own attorney general, Tim Fox, as well as our local law enforcement.
At the Federal level, our goal must be to partner with States and communities to overcome this devastating reality, and that is why I fought for specific provisions to be included in this opioid bill we are going to pass this week.
My bipartisan legislation, the Mitigating METH Act, expands the State-targeted response to the opioid crisis grants to include Indian Tribes as eligible recipients and is included in this broader legislation that we have before us. This initiative is extremely important to curbing substance abuse on Indian reservations.
The STOP Act, another bipartisan bill that I have cosponsored, is included in this package before this body. This bill helps stop illegal drugs from crossing the border or being shipped through the Postal Service.
Additionally, programs like the high intensity drug trafficking areas, drug courts, and the COPS Anti-Meth Program are all reauthorized in this package, and I can tell you something: These are vital resources in combating meth use in Montana. Without these tools, we will continue down a dark path, but I believe, with these programs and by passing this bipartisan bill in the U.S. Senate, we can begin to finally curb this problem.
I truly want to thank my colleagues, and I look forward to passing this legislation and sending this to the President's desk.
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