WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S Senator Angus King (I-Maine) attended a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing focused on heroin addiction and prescription drug abuse in the United States. Senator King, who is not a member of the Committee, sat in the audience for part of the hearing as the Committee considered the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, bipartisan legislation he has cosponsored that would encourage states and local communities to pursue a full array of proven strategies to combat addiction.

After the hearing, Senator King released the following statement:

            “The heroin and prescription drug abuse epidemic is a serious threat to communities across Maine and the nation, and it demands an immediate and comprehensive response,” Senator King said. “Those struggling with addiction are fighting every day, and the least we could do is move quickly to provide law enforcement and medical professionals on the front lines with the resources they need to fight this epidemic in every way. I’m encouraged that we made progress in today’s hearing, but peoples’ lives are on the line and we can do more and we must do more.”

More specifically, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2015 considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee would:

·         Expand prevention and educational efforts—particularly aimed at teens, parents and other caretakers, and aging populations—to prevent the abuse of opioids and heroin and to promote treatment and recovery.

·         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 our children and adolescents.

·         Launch an evidence-based opioid and heroin treatment and interventions program.  While we have medications that can help treat addiction, there is a critical need to get the training and resources necessary to expand treatment best practices throughout the country.

·         Strengthen prescription drug monitoring programs to help states monitor and track prescription drug diversion and to help at-risk individuals access services.

The legislation is supported by the National District Attorneys Association, the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD), Faces and Voices of Recovery, the National Council for Behavioral Health, and the Major County Sheriffs' Association, among others.

Senator King is also a cosponsor of emergency funding legislation introduced by Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) that would provide a total of $600 million in supplemental appropriations to programs at the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery. Senator Shaheen testified before the Judiciary Committee today in support of their legislation.

The Senate Judiciary Committee today held a hearing titled, “Attacking America’s Epidemic of Heroin and Prescription Drug Abuse.” Witnesses included Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) as well as Michael Botticelli, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy; Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse; Kana Enomoto, Acting Administrator of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; and Louis Milione, Deputy Assistant Administrator of the Office of Diversion Control for the Drug Enforcement Administration, among others.

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