This afternoon the White House announced a new strategy to tackle the explosion in heroin use in a group of eastern states, focusing on treatment over punishment.
Heroin use has more than doubled among people aged 18-25 in the United States in the past ten years. Overdose death rates have nearly quadrupled. An estimated 45 percent of U.S. heroin users are also addicted to prescription painkillers. The stats on people who don’t use heroin but are addicted to legal pain pills is even higher.
Under the plan, $2.5 million of $13.4 million in new funding to combat drug trafficking will target particular areas of the country where the problem is greatest: Appalachia, New England, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore.
The Obama administration said it will use these funds to work with local law enforcement to increase access to treatment for addicts and try to trace the sources of heroin trafficking.
You might want to take a look at Afghanistan, Mr.President.
You must be logged in to post a comment.