Published by Providence Journal
Policymakers are scrambling to craft legislation to end the opioid abuse crisis. The first bill to hit the U.S. Senate floor for debate, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, introduced by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., passed with broad support Thursday after almost two weeks of ensuing debate over the final contents of the bill.
This comes on the heels of discussion between President Obama and the nation’s governors on the merits of various policy solutions. Obama responded to their proposal to limit the number of painkillers doctors can prescribe by saying, “If we go to doctors right now and say ‘Don’t overprescribe’ without providing some mechanisms for people … to deal with the pain that they have … then we’re not going to solve the problem, because the pain is real.”
In this brief statement, the president validated the plight of millions of Americans with pain — highlighting the lack of safe, effective alternatives to addictive medications and exposing the interconnectedness of the opioid and chronic pain crises.
Policies proposed to date focus on prescription practices and treatment for addiction. But this is only a partial solution. To achieve a lasting result, future bills will have to address why there’s a need for chronic pain patients to use addictive medications at all. As the president emphasized, reducing the opioid supply without reducing their demand, will not, by itself, solve this crisis. Our approach needs to be broadened to address the underlying challenge of chronic pain.
Read the Full Article