Saturday, June 27, 2015

"Opioid addiction is a health care issue that knows no boundaries"

You may have heard that Governor Baker announced several initiatives to address the opioid addiction problem facing the Comonwealth of MA.
“Let me make one thing perfectly clear here. Opioid addiction is a health care issue that knows no boundaries across age, race, class, or demographics,” Baker said. “From the Berkshires to Boston to Cape Cod, too many people have heart-wrenching stories of loved ones and friends that battled with addiction and in some cases lost their lives.” 
Unintentional opioid overdoses claimed an estimated 1,008 lives in Massachusetts in 2014, an increase over the prior year and more than three times the number of lives lost to automobile accidents. 
The report calls for the creation of nearly 200 new treatment beds by July 2016, state funding for school prevention programs to be designed at the local level, a partnership with a chain pharmacy to pilot a drug take-back program, and amendments to the civil commitment statute to include substance abuse disorders.
Continue reading the article in the Commonwealth Magazine here
http://commonwealthmagazine.org/criminal-justice/baker-unveils-plan-on-opioid-addiction/

STOP Addiction in its tracks
STOP Addiction in its tracks

Additional information can be found on the Health and Human Services webpage
http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/gov/departments/dph/stop-addiction/

opioid deaths vs. motor vehicle deaths 200-2013


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