Senate Passes CARA, an Opioid Abuse Bill

Your tax dollars at work. The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act(CARA), is legislation created to help communities currently dealing with a rising opioid dependent population, and abuse issues related. Drugs used to get abusers off opioids, treatment facilities, and rehabilitation programs were discussed and some implemented as part of CARA. Sounds like a sound strategy, at least to the bipartisan group who drove the bill to a vote, right? The only issue is the bill lacks teeth, as there was no funding for these programs attatched to the bill.

Democrats took to the Senate floor ahead of the vote to express their disappointment that most Republicans had rejected an amendment from Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) to include $600 million in emergency funding

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who supported the legislation, slammed Republicans, saying, "They want to do things on the cheap, they want to pass things to pat ourselves on the back." But Republicans, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), argue there's approximately $400 million included in last year's omnibus spending bill that could be directed to CARA. Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) quickly fired back that that wasn't a "factual statement," because he believes money under the omnibus has already been obligated.

Essentially, some that backed this bill did so to prop up their image on the subject, not for their care or concern for communities dealing with this issue. I'm not surprised, but disappointed in that this could have been a real help to many, instead of bolstering senator's status.

McConnell gave a shoutout to Portman and Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) on the Senate floor Thursday morning, saying the New Hampshire Republican "cares deeply about this issue and has studied the problem carefully." Democrats have targeted Portman and Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), suggesting they are touting CARA while brushing over mixed voting records on opioid abuse funding. Both of the senators voted against a spending bill late last year that included extra funding to help comba

thehill.com...

a reply to: Boscowashisnamo

I thought all bills presented before Congress had to have language that described the source of the funding--is that not correct?

ETA: As far as bills passed by Congress in the last 20 years, this is actually one that I think is worthwhile--I live in the Cincinnati Tri-State area, and there is a terrible heroin problem here--and I mean terrible. It's so bad that at least one of the local news stations (WCPO) has it's on section on its website dedicated to heroin.

The amount of money spent by local governments trying to combat this issue is astounding, and I wouldn't mind my federal tax dollars helping to supplement that IF it went toward treatment and not the war on drugs.

So this bill, does it really only offer help after the problem has occurred. Its like putting a band aide on a Gun Shot wound. it may coverup the problem for a bit, but eventually its going to bleed through. Although I see no real answer to the problem without a complete overhaul to the way medicine especially Pain meds and Benzos are prescribed on a such a large scale. The Pharmaceutical giants, all the way down to the Overseas drug traffickers would need to be dealt with. And since Opium comes from a plant for the most part, besides a bit of synthetic made. So until a region starts to make more money for planting cotton or food rather than poppy plants this problem will remain. I personally think THe US helped to create this mess, by the Afghan war, and what is now their most widely exported product, Opium.

a reply to: Glassbender777

Agreed.

Many many many heroin addicts started because they became addicted to prescription pain meds and got their prescription cut off cold-turkey, causing them to seek similar relief and effects via the Opiate Underground (TM). Until that is addressed better, you're right, this will continue to happen, even if treatment centers are funded and running at full capacity.

If they want the money, they should cut funds from something else...

$400 million isn't all that much in federal government land. If it is such an important bill, I'm sure they can suspend green energy loans or maybe cut one or two choppers out of the military budget.

Government cannot and should not be paying for everything.

Maybe it would be cheaper to stop prosecuting drug laws and then use the money to pay for treatment.

a reply to: Edumakated

Government cannot and should not be paying for everything

Agreed. But why pass a bill that does not include the funding to enact the help it contains?

Maybe it would be cheaper to stop prosecuting drug laws and then use the money to pay for treatment.

Now that makes sense.

originally posted by: Glassbender777
So this bill, does it really only offer help after the problem has occurred. Its like putting a band aide on a Gun Shot wound. it may coverup the problem for a bit, but eventually its going to bleed through. Although I see no real answer to the problem without a complete overhaul to the way medicine especially Pain meds and Benzos are prescribed on a such a large scale. The Pharmaceutical giants, all the way down to the Overseas drug traffickers would need to be dealt with. And since Opium comes from a plant for the most part, besides a bit of synthetic made. So until a region starts to make more money for planting cotton or food rather than poppy plants this problem will remain. I personally think THe US helped to create this mess, by the Afghan war, and what is now their most widely exported product, Opium.

That doesn't mean you don't have treatment enters and methadone until the root cause is fixed. These things are sorely needed in many places in the country and help more than a band aide on a gunshot wound. They would save lives.

a reply to: Glassbender777 Really, with all the Government involvement in the drug trade....after the Chinese Opium wars made the aristocracy of England wealthy beyond avarice...The Vietnam War....(Kuhn Sa supplied the dope from the golden triangle)to the CIA....
The Afghan war that addicted Russia and spurred the Russian Mafia to riches and government...the next war there tied up the worlds Heroin supply in CIA hands...and killed off the Taliban who had stopped the dope business.....can you not see that the governments are using the whole drug thing to further their own agenda and gain the funds to carry it out....??As well as control us?Fill the prisons with workers,and generally divide us?
We are being farmed by the elite who consider us not at all worth considering at all....

a reply to: Boscowashisnamo

The House Controls the purse strings. The funding be attached when it goes through there.