|
 Clinton’s plan would include a new $7.5 billion federal fund to
support states that launch addiction-related prevention, treatment,
medical response, prescription and criminal justice initiatives.
Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, announced her plan in the
Manchester Union Leader, a New Hampshire newspaper. She said at her
first campaign stop in the state, a retired doctor told her the
biggest problem facing the country was drug addiction.
“To be candid, I didn’t expect what came next,” Clinton wrote in the
piece posted late on Tuesday. “In state after state, this issue came
up again and again – from so many people, from all walks of life, in
small downs and big cities.”
Substance abuse has become an early, surprising theme in Clinton’s
campaign, prompting personal stories at panels in New Hampshire and
house parties in Iowa, the two states that hold the earliest party
nominating contests.
“You look at me as a regular person, but I served 11 years in
prison,” said Carl Babbitt at an August roundtable in Keene, New
Hampshire, detailing how he was abused in foster care and turned to
drugs and alcohol.
“I tried to get into recovery,” Babbitt continued, but “as soon as
they found out I had no insurance, bye. I went back to doing
cocaine.”
Babbitt killed a man during an alcohol- and drug-fueled fight. He
now runs a prison ministry.
At an Iowa event last week, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack
stood in front of a barn as the sun set and told the crowd there to
see Clinton that he wanted to get “very personal” about why he
endorsed her. Vilsack said his mother abused prescription drugs and
walked out when he was young.
[to top of second column] |
“What struck me was how impacted she was by the stories she heard,”
Vilsack said of Clinton.
Clinton’s vision, as outlined by her campaign, would emphasize
better training for healthcare workers to recognize substance abuse,
and having all first responders carry naloxone, a drug that can
reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
Clinton would direct the attorney general to issue new guidance
related to nonviolent drug offenders that emphasizes treatment over
incarceration, generating savings that could be used to partially
fund the $10 billion initiative, her campaign said.
(Reporting by Amanda Becker in Washington; additional reporting by
Mohammad Zargham in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham and Jonathan
Oatis)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
