Topics in the News: Opioid
Joe Biden on Health Care
: Jul 31, 2019
I have only plan limiting insurance companies
Sen. Kamala Harris: Under your plan, you do nothing to hold the insurance companies to task for what they have been doing to American families.Biden: I have the only plan that limits the ability of insurance companies to charge unreasonable prices,
flat out, number one. Number two, we should put some of these insurance executives who totally oppose my plan in jail for the $9 billion opioids they sell out there.
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Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit)
Cory Booker on Drugs
: Jun 26, 2019
Opioid manufacturers should be held criminally liable
Q: Should pharmaceutical companies that manufacture [opioids] be held criminally liable?A: They should absolutely be held criminally liable, because they are liable and responsible. We have been seeing how we've tried to arrest our way out of
addiction for too long. It is time that we have a national urgency to deal with this problem and make the solutions that are working to actually be the law of our land and make the pharmaceutical companies that are responsible help to pay for that.
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Source: June Democratic Primary debate (first night in Miami)
Beto O`Rourke on Drugs
: Jun 26, 2019
Opioid manufacturers should be held to account
Despite what Purdue Pharma has done, their connection to the opioid crisis and overdose deaths that we're seeing throughout this country, they've been able to act with complete impunity and pay no consequences, not a single night in jail. Unless there's
accountability and justice, this crisis will continue. We will hold them to account. We will make sure that they pay a price, and we will help those who've been victims of this malfeasance in this country get them treatment and long-term care.
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Source: June Democratic Primary debate (first night in Miami)
Howie Hawkins on Drugs
: May 19, 2019
Big Pharma pushes addictive opioids for profit
Big pharma has failed to serve the public interest as a profit-oriented industry. It has gouged consumers with monopolistic pricing. Its business model is centered on pushing addictive opioids and patent-protected
medicines for chronic conditions. It has abandoned research and development of less lucrative short-term treatments, notably for antibiotic-resistant superbugs.
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Source: 2020 Presidential Campaign website HowieHawkins.us
Elizabeth Warren on Health Care
: May 8, 2019
$100 billion in multi-faceted program on opioid addiction
Opioid crisis: Proposed a $100 billion plan over the next 10 years to fund first responders, public health departments and states for prevention and rehabilitation services.
Warren fired shots at Big Pharma and Congress for choosing "greed" over the best interest of the American public.
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Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"
Amy Klobuchar on Drugs
: May 5, 2019
Fund treatment & mental health with opioid tax
That means enough beds in this country for people with mental health problems if they're facing a crisis. That means doing something about our mounting suicide rate for farmers, for veterans, for LGBTQ youth. That means actually putting the
money into treatment. I have a proposal for [a] 2 cents-per-milligram fee on these opioid pharma companies that have made tons of money off the backs of people who got addicted. You can also use it for these other drugs, as well as mental health.
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Source: CNN SOTU 2019 interview of presidential hopefuls
Amy Klobuchar on Drugs
: May 3, 2019
Opioid manufacturers should help fund treatment
She released a $100 billion plan to combat mental health problems and substance abuse over the next decade. Her plan focuses on prevention, treatment and ongoing recovery. Klobuchar wants a chunk of the money to come from opioid manufacturers for
their role in the national epidemic. She co-sponsored a bill that would impose a one-cent tax for each milligram of opioids in a pain pill. The funds for the tax would then be used for substance abuse treatment.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"
Mike Gravel on Drugs
: Apr 9, 2019
Legalize & regulate all drugs, including opioids
According to the top Nixon aide John Ehrlichman, The War On Drugs started as a way to criminalize African-Americans and the anti-war left: and it worked. By bringing this war to an end, we will be able to remove the roadblocks that prevent addicts from
getting help and end the pattern of selectively-enforced felony drug convictions that oppress the poor and marginalized. By criminalizing users and dealers at every step, we offer no alternative but the needle.The United States should: -
Remove marijuana from the list of drugs on the Controlled Substance Act and add an amendment to the Constitution to ensure that it is fully legal nationwide.
- Increase funding for drug treatment programs dramatically.
- Free all nonviolent drug
offenders and expunge their records.
- Decriminalize, legalize, regulate, and tax all drugs, including opioids. No amount of criminalization actually stops drug use, and so we need to provide safe alternatives to shady dealers and laced products.
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Source: 2020 Presidential campaign website MikeGravel.com
Andrew Yang on Drugs
: Apr 7, 2019
Legalize marijuana; pardon marijuana-related offenses
Marijuana legalization: Yang pledged to legalize marijuana and pardon all non-violent drug related offenses, then later clarified in an interview with
George Stephanopoulos that he would only pardon marijuana-related offenses. Yang said he would still decriminalize opioids.
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Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"
Andrew Yang on Drugs
: Apr 7, 2019
Pardon non-violent drug offenders, focusing on marijuana
[VIDEO CLIP]: YANG: And I would pardon everyone who's in jail for a non-violent drug related offense. I would pardon them all on April 20th, 2021 and I would high five them on the way out of jail. [END CLIP]Q: That include cocaine dealers, opioid
dealers?
YANG: I would decriminalize opioids, but in that particular segment I was referring to marijuana related drug offenses specifically
Q: So only marijuana, not all non-violent drug offenders.
YANG: Yes, that's correct.
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Source: ABC This Week 2019 interview of presidential hopefuls
Andrew Yang on Drugs
: Mar 29, 2019
War on Drugs has not worked: treatment instead of punishment
Opioid addiction is rampant in our country. In 2016, more than 11 million Americans misused prescription opioids and 2.1 million had an addiction to heroin, fentanyl, and other opioids. This is a public health crisis, and the top priority has to
be getting Americans well. Many Americans are not seeking treatment because they are afraid of life-destroying criminal penalties. We need to remove the stigma of an addiction that literally millions of Americans are struggling with.
The War on Drugs has not worked. We need to give more American families and communities a real chance to get well, and we need to evolve from a punitive approach that does not serve the public.
If you are caught with a small amount of drugs, we should refer you straight to treatment, not a prison cell.
Click for Andrew Yang on other issues.
Source: 2020 presidential campaign website Yang2020.com
Andrew Yang on Drugs
: Mar 29, 2019
Decriminalize small quantities of opioid use and possession
As President, I will...Drastically increase funding to treatment programs for opioid users, through fines levied against the companies that marketed these drugs. - Decriminalize small quantities of opioid use and possession.
-
Make treatment programs much more available and affordable to anyone found with small quantities of these drugs.
- Provide grants for their own treatment programs to states that decriminalize small quantities of opioid use/possession.
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Source: 2020 presidential campaign website Yang2020.com
Tulsi Gabbard on Drugs
: Mar 10, 2019
End failed war on drugs, opioid addiction is medical crisis
We must end this failed war on drugs. I introduced bipartisan legislation that would end the federal prohibition on marijuana. This will have a great impact on the opioid crisis. In states where marijuana is legalized, we have seen a drop in opioid
addiction, and a drop in opioid-related deaths. This will have an impact on our economy in so many different ways, as well as taking a huge bite out of our broken criminal justice system, where far too many nonviolent drug offenders are wasting away.
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Source: CNN Town Hall on 2020 Democratic presidential primary
Amy Klobuchar on Drugs
: Feb 18, 2019
Opioid companies should fund addiction treatment
There is just not enough funding going into addiction. I see it as a money saver in the long haul, because so many times when people get hooked, they end up committing crimes.Why don't we pay for it by getting money from the very drug companies that
got people addicted in the first place? We have a bill right now, the LifeBOAT Act, where we put a fee on those companies that are selling the opioids to help pay for treatment. I'd like to see the Trump administration get behind that.
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Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls
Pete Buttigieg on Drugs
: Feb 12, 2019
Focus on opioid treatment options, not just defining problem
Sometimes, knowing more doesn't help. At a tech conference, I saw a pitch from a startup that would automatically detect patterns of opioid use by scanning for trace amounts in the sewage. The technology is brilliant, and may do a great deal of good in
some places. But in South Bend, our problem wasn't knowing how much opioid use was prevalent in this neighborhood compared to that one; it was the lack of mental health and addiction resources to deal with the issue wherever we found it.
Financing a project to tell us more about the problem could even come at the expense of treatment options, which are grossly underfunded in our country and state health systems.
In cases where we have ample means to fix a problem, then we only need to find it. The rest of the time, reporting an issue is necessary, but not sufficient, for resolving it.
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.
Source: Shortest Way Home, by Pete Buttigieg, p.189
Donald Trump on Drugs
: Feb 5, 2019
MS-13 gangs in 20 states smuggle in meth & opioids
Tens of thousands of innocent Americans are killed by lethal drugs that cross our border and flood into our cities--including meth, heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl.The savage gang, MS-13, now operates in 20 different American States, and they almost
all come through our southern border. Just yesterday, an MS-13 gang member was taken into custody for a fatal shooting in NYC. We are removing these gang members by the thousands, but until we secure our border they're going to keep streaming back in.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: 2019 State of the Union address to United States Congress
Bill de Blasio on Drugs
: Jan 10, 2019
Sue Big Pharma for opioid addiction; open overdose centers
We're not afraid in this town to take on the big corporations. So we sued the big pharmaceutical companies for peddling addiction, for helping to create the opioid crisis.We're going to fight to get the resources we deserve back from those
companies, so we can help New Yorkers. But nonetheless, with the tools at hand today, we're stemming the tide of overdose deaths. We are opening overdose prevention centers anyway. Because there is no wrong way to save lives.
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Source: 2019 State of the City address
Kamala Harris on Drugs
: Jan 8, 2019
Opioid crisis requires emergency mobilization
In 2017, the administration declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency, but the fund they used to deal with it had only--I kid you not--$57,000 in it. That represents less than one dollar for each person who died of a drug overdose that year.
It's unconscionable. This is a crisis that deserves a major federal mobilization. We need to declare a national state of emergency, which would provide more funding, right away, to help combat this disease--more resources to pay for addiction
treatment, hospital services, skills training, and more.
We need to make sure that people who are addicted have access to medication-assisted-treatment (MAT)--drugs like buprenorphine which prevents withdrawal symptoms and cravings without producing
the kind of high that heroin or OxyContin does. Many insurance companies will cover the cost of opioids while charging more than $200 a month for buprenorphine. That has to change. We have to change it.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: The Truths We Hold, by Kamala Harris, p.206-7
John Kasich on Drugs
: Aug 1, 2018
Longer prison sentences for fentanyl-related offenses
Gov. John Kasich signed into law a bill imposing longer prison sentences for "merchants of death" dealing fentanyl. Kasich's signing of Senate Bill 1 increases prison sentences for drug offenses involving fentanyl-related compounds, with those convicted
potentially facing more felony time for trafficking, possession and funding of trafficking involving the deadly synthetic opioid that has fueled a spiral of fatal overdoses.The bill lowers the amounts required to trigger escalating levels of felony
penalties, keeping offenders in prison longer. "We're sending a message ... they're going to go to prison for a very long time," Kasich said.
Drug dealers convicted as major drug offenders in fentanyl-compound cases face additional mandatory prison
terms of three to eight years. In some cases, the penalty for permitting drug abuse involving fentanyl will increase from a first-degree misdemeanor (a maximum of six months in jail) to a fifth-degree felony (up to a year in prison).
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Source: Columbus Dispatch on Ohio legislative records: Senate Bill 1
Marianne Williamson on Drugs
: Jul 24, 2018
Opioid crisis results from pharma companies drugging America
The most significant drug stash in America is in our collective medicine chests. America has become a legally ordained drug culture.
Legal, though not necessarily morally legitimate, pharmaceutical company campaigns have set out to drug America, with far too many doctors as their willing accomplices.
Our opioid crisis is one of the results, as the most common "gateway drug" to opioid addiction is a legal pharmaceutical.
We drop antidepressants today as though they were candy. Over 2 million of our young people under the age of seventeen are now taking them. Human suffering has been turned into a profit center for corporate interests.
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Source: Healing the Soul of America, by Marianne Williamson, p.172-3
Donald Trump on Drugs
: May 7, 2018
Melania's "Be Best": focus on well-being & opioid abuse
Melania Trump revealed a new platform for tackling multiple issues relevant to American children. "I am very excited to announce Be Best, an awareness campaign dedicated to the most valuable and fragile among us--our children," Trump said. "There is one
goal to Be Best--and that is to educate children about the many issues they are facing today."Trump said Be Best would have three main areas of focus: well-being, social media use and opioid abuse. "Let us teach our children the
difference between right and wrong, and encourage them to Be Best in their individual paths in life," Trump said.
Saying she first learned about "the real consequences of our nation's opioid epidemic" during her husband's White House bid,
Trump told the crowd she intends to "work with those who are fighting drug addiction."
President Trump was on-hand for the initiative's launch. As his wife looked on, Trump signed a "Be Best" proclamation, declaring Monday as "Be Best Day."
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Source: Forbes Magazine on 2018 Trump Administration
Donald Trump on Drugs
: Mar 19, 2018
Execute drug dealers to fight opioid epidemic
Pres. Trump spelled out in new detail several steps he favors to fight an epidemic of opioid abuse, including the execution of drug dealers, a proposal that has gained little support from drug abuse and judicial experts.Trump unveiled an anti-opioid
abuse plan, including his death penalty recommendation, new funding for other initiatives and stiffer sentencing laws for drug dealers. He said the US must "get tough" on opioids. "And that toughness includes the death penalty," he said. Neither Trump
nor the White House gave further details as to when it would be appropriate to seek the death penalty.
Trump said that he was working with Congress to find $6 billion in new funding to fight the opioid crisis. The plan will also seek to cut opioid
prescriptions by a third over 3 years by changing federal programs, he said.
Addiction to opioids--mainly prescription painkillers, heroin and fentanyl--is a growing problem, especially in rural areas. 42,000 people died from opioid overdoses in 2016.
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Source: Reuters in The Metro on 2018 Trump Administration
Donald Trump on Drugs
: Jan 30, 2018
Tougher on drug dealers to end scourge of opioids
[My border security] reforms will support our response to the terrible crisis of opioid and drug addiction. In 2016, we lost 64,000 Americans to drug overdoses: 174 deaths per day. Seven per hour. We must get much tougher on drug dealers and pushers
if we are going to succeed in stopping this scourge.My Administration is committed to fighting the drug epidemic and helping get treatment for those in need. The struggle will be long and difficult--but, as Americans always do, we will prevail.
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Source: 2018 State of the Union address
Cory Booker on Drugs
: Apr 1, 2017
Opposes Drug War, but control border for opioid precursors
BROKEN PROMISE: : Booker had adopted a strongly progressive stance on drugs -supporting medical marijuana; supporting treatment instead of incarceration for drug possession; opposing drug enforcement is racially biased; and opposing the
War on Drugs in general. He "evolved" and signed on to the War on Opioids, seeking international treaty restrictions on opioid precursor trafficking. ANALYSIS: : Some progressives and minority voters would consider the "opioid epidemic"
just the latest application of biased enforce-ment, and would expect Booker to apply his racial-bias philosophy to a general rejection of drug enforcement. Booker would differentiate opioids as more dangerous than marijuana -
which critics would say follows in the scare-tactic footsteps of Demon Rum and Reefer Madness. Booker's proposed border interdiction above is a standard proposal of Drug Warriors--just involving international institutions as a novel feature.
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Source: Cory Booker 'Promises Broken,' by Jesse Gordon, p. 30
John Kasich on Drugs
: Mar 30, 2017
No mixed message: don't do opioids & don't do marijuana
Gov. John Kasich said he doesn't think Ohio's new medical marijuana program will help mitigate the state's opioid crisis, though recent studies indicate otherwise.Kasich was asked at a news conference announcing new opioid prescription limits
what role medical marijuana might play in addressing the growing number of opiate overdose deaths in Ohio. Kasich said telling kids not to do drugs but that marijuana is OK sends a mixed message. "I know it's not recreational marijuana, not
recreational use, but I don't see a role for it in this at all," Kasich said.
Studies have shown opioid overdoses and deaths have decreased in states that allow medical marijuana, which is far less addictive and lethal. Republicans and Democrats cited
the opioid crisis as a reason to pass Ohio's medical marijuana law last year.
"I don't like the whole thing -- medical marijuana," Kasich said. "It got passed because somebody was going to have a broader law."
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Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer on 2018 Ohio gubernatorial race
Stacey Abrams on Drugs
: Mar 30, 2017
Add fentanyl to list of criminalized opioids
HB 213: Updates the Georgia Code to include the drug fentanyl alongside morphine, opium, and heroin. Individuals convicted of felony drug trafficking of
fentanyl would be subjected to the same punishments as trafficking those other drugs. MY VOTE: YES
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Source: 2018 Georgia governor campaign website StaceyAbrams.com
Larry Hogan on Drugs
: Feb 1, 2017
Created the Heroin and Opioid Emergency Task Force
Three years ago, when not many people were paying any attention, we began to shine a spotlight on the rapidly growing heroin and opioid crisis. Just under the surface of every community across our state and across the nation, heroin and opioid abuse has
been taking lives and tearing apart families and communities.One of my first acts as governor was to create the Heroin and Opioid Emergency Task Force. We have gone after it from every angle including education, treatment, interdiction, and law
enforcement. We have made strides, but this crisis continues to grow out of control all across our country.
We can--and we must--do more to save the lives of Marylanders. We need your help to enact the multi-pronged
Heroin Prevention, Treatment, and Enforcement Initiative and to pass the Prescriber Limits Act of 2017 and the Distribution of Opioids Resulting in Death Act.
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Source: 2017 State of the State address to Maryland Legislature
Bernie Sanders on Drugs
: Nov 15, 2016
Opioid treatment instead of locking them up
We cannot jail our way out of health problems like mental illness and drug addiction. Our country is facing an opioid crisis, both in terms of prescription pain medicine abuse and heroin addiction. People are dying every day from overdoes.
But the solution is not to lock up addicts. We have to treat substance abuse as a serious public health issue rather than a criminal issue, so that all people--regardless of their income--can get the help they need.
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Source: Our Revolution, by Bernie Sanders, p. 381-2
Donald Trump on Drugs
: Oct 9, 2016
Apply resources to stop the inflow of opioids into America
Q: How would your administration address the growing opioid problem?TRUMP: We first should stop the inflow of opioids into the United States. We can do that and we will in the Trump administration. As this is a national problem that costs
America billions of dollars in productivity, we should apply the resources necessary to mitigate this problem. Dollars invested in taking care of this problem will be more than paid for with recovered lives and productivity that adds to the wealth and
health of the nation.
CLINTON: I have proposed a $10 billion initiative, and laid out a series of goals to help communities across the country. We need to expand the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment block grant and support new
federal-state partnerships targeting prevention, treatment, recovery, and other areas of reform. Finally, we must prioritize rehabilitation and treatment over prison for low-level and non-violent offenders.
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Source: ScienceDebate.org: 20 questions for 2016 presidential race
Hillary Clinton on Drugs
: Oct 9, 2016
$10B to prevent quiet epidemic of drug & alcohol addiction
Q: How would your administration address the growing opioid problem?CLINTON: Our country is in the grips of a quiet epidemic of drug and alcohol addiction. To combat America's deadly epidemic of drug and alcohol addiction, I have proposed a
$10 billion initiative, and laid out a series of goals to help communities across the country. We need to expand the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment block grant and support new federal-state partnerships targeting prevention, treatment,
recovery, and other areas of reform. Finally, we must prioritize rehabilitation and treatment over prison for low-level and non-violent offenders. Jail time should not be a substitute for treatment. Working together, we can combat this epidemic and
ensure that people across the country are getting the care they need to live long and healthy lives.
TRUMP: We first should stop the inflow of opioids into the United States. We can do that and we will in the Trump administration.
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Source: ScienceDebate.org: 20 questions for 2016 presidential race
Larry Hogan on Drugs
: Jul 13, 2016
New tools to pursue criminal organizations in drug trade
Governor Larry Hogan today joined 46 governors in signing the Compact to Fight Opioid Addiction, which was developed by and released today through the National Governors Association (NGA). "Far too many families and communities have experienced the
devastation caused by heroin and opioid abuse," said Governor Hogan. Governor Hogan established the Heroin and Opioid Emergency Task Force, which issued its final report In December 2015, containing 33 recommendations to address heroin and
opioid abuse, including expanding access to treatment and boosting overdose prevention efforts. Funding has been included in the last two budgets to address heroin addiction and treatment, as well as additional measures that are part of the
administration's criminal justice reform effort. The governor championed the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, and provided state attorneys with new tools to pursue criminal organizations involved in drug trade.
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Source: 2018 Maryland Governor campaign press release
Bill Weld on Drugs
: Jul 7, 2016
Tighten opioid prescription rules to keep them off streets
Q: What about regulation of opioids? Do you favor any of the steps that have been taken recently by the FDA and others to tighten the distribution of opioids and pain medication?JOHNSON: Tightening leads to abuse. The tightening of these restrictions
by the FDA ends up criminalizing the activity and these products do kill people.
WELD: You're referring to trying to get less Oxycontin flooding the market?
Q: Yes.
WELD: That's a good idea.
JOHNSON: The reality is that you end up depriving some people of the real need to relieve their pain so it ends up criminalizing a lot of activity. I wish there were alternatives to the opioids, which marijuana does fill that role, and that would be
a safer [way].
WELD: Maybe that's your answer. I think what Gov. Charlie Baker has been working on in Massachusetts [establishing a 7-day limit on first-time opioid prescriptions] is a good model. It's along those same lines.
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Source: Washington Post interview of Johnson & Weld on 2016 election
Elizabeth Warren on Drugs
: Feb 13, 2016
Legalizing marijuana will reduce opioid deaths
Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to explore the use of medical marijuana as an alternative to the powerful opioid painkillers that kill thousands of people each year. In a letter to CDC chief
Tom Friedan, the Massachusetts Democrat also asks the agency to look into "the impact of the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana on opioid overdose deaths."
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Source: Washington Post on 2016 Veepstakes: "Legalizing marijuana"
Elizabeth Warren on Crime
: Feb 3, 2016
Unfair: Kid in trouble for petty theft; CEO steals billions
It's not equal justice when a kid gets thrown in jail for stealing a car, while a CEO gets a huge raise when his company steals billions. It's not equal justice when someone hooked on opioids gets locked up for buying pills on the street,
but bank executives get off scot-free for laundering nearly a billion dollars of drug cartel money." ˙Warren said it is time for Congress to pass criminal justice reform easing the severe sentences for nonviolent offenses.
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Source: Huffington Post on 2016 Veepstakes: "Justice rigged"
Hillary Clinton on Drugs
: Jan 17, 2016
$1B per year to help states with opioid epidemic
Q: Despite an estimated trillion dollars spent, many say the war on drugs has failed. What would you do?CLINTON: Everywhere I go to campaign, I'm meeting families who are affected by the drug problem that mostly is opioids and heroin now, and lives
are being lost and children are being orphaned. So I have tried to come out with a comprehensive approach that does tell the states that we will work with you from the federal government putting more money, about a billion dollars a year, to help states
have a different approach to dealing with this epidemic. Police officers must be equipped with the antidote to a heroin overdose or an opioid overdose, known as Narcan. They should be able to administer it. So should firefighters and others.
We have to move away from treating the use of drugs as a crime and instead, move it to where it belongs, as a health issue. And we need to divert more people from the criminal justice system into drug courts, into treatment, and recovery.
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Source: 2016 NBC Democratic debate
Bernie Sanders on Drugs
: Jan 17, 2016
Pharmaceutical companies are responsible for opioid epidemic
Q [to Clinton]: Would you continue the war on drugs?CLINTON: The federal government [should spend about $1 billion] to help states: Police must be equipped with the antidote to an opioid overdose. We have to move away from treating the use of drugs as
a crime and instead as a health issue. And we need to divert more people from the criminal justice system into drug courts.
SANDERS: I agree with everything the Secretary said, but let me just add this: there is a responsibility on the part of the
pharmaceutical industry and the drug companies who are producing all of these drugs and not looking at the consequence of it. And second of all, when we talk about addiction being a disease, the Secretary is right, what that means is we need a revolution
in this country in terms of mental health treatment. People should be able to get the treatment that they need when they need it, not two months from now, which is why I believe in universal healthcare with mental health, as part of that.
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Source: 2016 NBC Democratic debate
Mike Pence on Drugs
: Jan 12, 2016
Confront the growing epidemic of drug abuse
We must support new ways to confront the growing epidemic of drug abuse and addiction. Let's pass stiffer penalties on those who sell these poisons to our kids. But we cannot just arrest our way out of this problem. We have to make
sure families have more options for treatments. Two new laws will help: Aaron's Law allows healthcare providers to make an antidote for opioid overdoses available, and The Jennifer Act allows Medicaid to cover inpatient detoxification.
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Source: 2016 State of the State speech to Indiana legislature
Hillary Clinton on Drugs
: Dec 19, 2015
$10B plan for opiate addiction over 10 years
Heroin is a major epidemic. I've heard some great ideas about how law enforcement is changing its behavior, how the recovery community is reaching out. I've laid out a five-point plan. I would like the federal government to offer $10 billion over ten
years to work with states. We need to do more on the prescribing end. There are too many opioids being prescribed, and that leads directly to heroin addiction. We need more programs, so when somebody is ready to get help, there's a place to go.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2015 ABC/WMUR Democratic primary debate in N.H.
Page last updated: Aug 12, 2019