Opioid Bill: Should Addictiion Be Addressed As a Health Problem Instead of a Crime?

It's been an ongoing debate as to whether drug addiction should be considered as a health problem or a crime. President Barack Obama then took a stand as they revised the Opioid Bill placing drug addiction as a health problem wherein the people suffering from it should be getting proper treatment, instead of being sent to jail.

NPR mentioned that the S.524 Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016, is set for approval. The bill has been revised several times as there are several restrictions and considerations that need to be reviewed. One of the setbacks for the bill's approval is the funding.

Senator Patty Murray mentioned that the bill would only pave forward if they would be able to generate sufficient funding for the patients' treatment. When they were hammering out the bill during the House and Senate negotiators conference, Murray pointed out that the "opioid epidemic" will eventually fall short if they don't have enough investment in the future.

"It's clear that efforts to prevent and treat the opioid epidemic will fall short without additional investments," Sen. Patty Murray said.

Though Murray pointed out the lack of funding, Sen. Lamar Alexander barred her statement stating that the bill has been raising enough funds over the past three years. It was then mentioned that the funding intended for opioids was able to increase more than 400 percent.

"Our friends on the other side say, you have to fund it. We are funding it," Alexander stated. "And they helped fund it. We've increased funding for opioids already by 542 percent."

In March 2016, President Barack Obama opened up about treating patients with drug addiction instead of placing them behind bars. According to The Guardian, during Obama's Atlanta conference, he talked about the importance of reducing the demand by treating drug addicts as he refers to addiction as a health problem, instead of a crime.

"For too long we've viewed drug addiction through the lens of criminal justice," President Obama said. "The most important thing to do is reduce demand. And the only way to do that is to provide treatment - to see it as a public health problem and not a criminal problem."