Support the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery (CARA) Act

I just received the following message from Sean Clarkin at Partnership for Drug-Free Kids -- and I signed the petition to support the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act in Congress. Please check it out and see if you could support it too.

From Sean:

Hello friends,

The Partnership is one of many organizations – and I’ll be among many thousands of people – who will be present at an October 4 rally in Washington called “United to Face Addiction,” aimed at mobilizing resources to prevent and treat substance use disorders and addiction.  Over 85 million Americans say they have been affected “a great deal” by addiction, and yet addiction remains ignored by mainstream healthcare while the majority of those suffering from addiction go untreated.

A major call to action of the rally is support for the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA),which has bi-partisan sponsorship in both the Senate and House.  The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2015 will:

• Provide up to $80 million in funding for prevention, treatment, and recovery
• Launch an evidence-based opioid and heroin treatment and interventions program.
• Strengthen prescription drug monitoring programs to help states monitor and track prescription drug diversion and to help at-risk individuals access services
• Expand prevention and educational efforts—particularly aimed at teens, parents and other caretakers, and aging populations
• 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

The Partnership has created a petition, urging members of both houses of Congress to vote for CARA.  This petition will be delivered to senators and congressmen on Monday, October 5, the day after the rally.

On behalf of myself and the Partnership, I ask you to please sign the petition, share it with friends and family, and post it on Facebook and Twitter using #howmanyfamilies: http://www.drugfree.org/unite_to_face_addiction

Visit with Director Botticelli

We had an amazing visit from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Michael Botticelli yesterday -- he spent almost an hour speaking with a small group of patients at REACH about their experiences and recovery. They, and he, are unbelievably inspiring!

New campaign to support funding for behavioral health services

Check out this website for the Keep the Door Open campaign led by the Behavioral Health Coalition in Maryland. They have done some great work to advocate for appropriate funding for behavioral health services in Maryland.

http://keepthedooropenmd.org/

Apology to a young man

I attended a conference in Cecil County last Thursday, and met a courageous young man in recovery. Part of his recovery involves taking methadone daily. He was at the conference to put a face and a voice to what recovery with methadone means.

I want to apologize to this young man as a handful of other conference attendees (who should have known better) behaved so antagonistically that he felt too intimidated to speak. No one should ever feel defined by a medication that they take, as prescribed, for a medical condition that itself shouldn't define who they are as a person. I can't imagine what the young man must have felt as he sat and listened to his treatment process and his recovery being flung in his face as "not treatment" and "not real recovery." And by people who have no healthcare credentials behind their name.

I was so glad when another conference attendee at the end of the day, after the young man had left, stood up and spoke up on behalf of the young man, his recovery, and the impact that the earlier words had had on him.

I wouldn't blame the young man if he never wants to attend another conference on substance use disorders ever again or ever utter the word "methadone" to anyone. I hope he doesn't let this episode affect his confidence in his recovery.  But I hope he will continue to show up and speak out since it will take his voice and that of many others to finally drown out those who don't understand, or choose not to understand, the science and the evidence.

Sticks and stones may break bones, but it's words that often cause the most damage. Let's use words to heal, not harm.