President Trump is expected to officially declare the opioid epidemic a national public health emergency. He will also announce his plans to combat the crisis.

AEI Resident Scholar Sally Satel, a lecturer at the Yale University School of Medicine and a practicing psychiatrist who works with drug addicted patients, identifies policy solutions and medical treatment options as well as provides context for how the crisis arose.

TREATMENTS AND SOLUTIONS:

Anti-addiction medications have an important role but treatment must be individualized.

Don’t say “we can’t arrest our way out.” Say “we can’t incarcerate our way out.” The criminal justice system has good diversion (treatment) programs that capitalize on leverage and monitoring. We need more of them.

The federal government’s role is funding: The action is local. Different cities and counties will have different needs. They require the freedom and financial support to respond.

Read the source article at aei.org