FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
September 29, 2015
For More Information, contact:
Luther Strange
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Alabama Attorney General
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Page 1 of 2
AG STRANGE, OTHER ATTORNEYS GENERAL URGE PASSAGE OF THE
COMPREHENSIVE ADDICTION AND RECOVERY ACT OF 2015 TO ADDRESS
NATIONWIDE EPIDEMIC OF HEROIN AND OPIOID ADDICTION AND ABUSE
(MONTGOMERY) – Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange and Attorneys
General from 37 states plus the District of Columbia today sent a letter to the leadership
of the Committee on the Judiciary for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives
urging passage of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2015 (S. 524/HR
953).
The letter comes amid continued state efforts to address the epidemic of heroin
and opioid-based painkiller abuse and addiction and its devastating effect on public
health and safety in communities. In Alabama today, Attorney General Strange hosted
the 2015 Attorney General’s Law Enforcement Summit, training approximately 700
officers from across the state in ways to fight drug abuse through education and
enforcement methods.
The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act would provide states with the
necessary tools to more effectively confront the growing challenge of heroin and opioid
abuse and addiction.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drug overdoses
now surpass automobile accidents as the leading cause of injury-related death for
Americans between the ages of 25 and 64. More than 100 Americans die as a result of
overdose in this country every day – more than half of them caused by prescription
drugs or heroin.
“Strong law enforcement is needed to attack the scourge of illegal drugs upon
our society, but we also must address the reality of addiction and make treatment more
effective and more available,” said Attorney General Strange. “The Comprehensive
Addiction and Recovery Act provides a nationwide plan to save lives, and we urge
Congress to approve this important legislation.”
In their letter, the Attorneys General write, “Law enforcement has always been
on the frontline when it comes to drug crises, but we cannot arrest ourselves out of this
current epidemic. Research shows the best way to address this challenge is through a
strategy that includes prevention, law enforcement, reduction of overdose deaths,
evidence-based treatment, and support for those in, or seeking, recovery.”
501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.state.al.us Page 2 of 2
The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2015 will:
- Expand prevention and educational efforts – particularly aimed at teens, parents
and other caretakers, and aging populations – to prevent the abuse of opioids
and heroin and to promote treatment and recovery; - Expand the availability of naloxone to law enforcement agencies and other first
responders to help in the reversal of overdoses to save lives; - Expand resources to identify and treat incarcerated individuals suffering from
addiction disorders promptly by collaborating with criminal justice stakeholders
and by providing evidence-based treatment; - Expand disposal sites for unwanted prescription medications to keep them out of
the hands of children and adolescents; - Launch an evidence-based opioids and heroin treatment and intervention
program to assist in treatment and recovery throughout the country; and - Strengthen prescription drug-monitoring programs to help states monitor and
track prescription drug diversion and to help at-risk individuals access services.
–30–
