US: Covid Sets Stage for Biden to Tackle Addiction Treatment Access (Includes audio)
Bloomberg Law – August 23, 2021
Bilingual addiction specialists, methadone treatment vans for underserved areas, and research into race’s role in drug policy are among team Biden’s plans for getting a grip on America’s addiction crisis. The Covid-19 pandemic, however, is complicating health equity efforts. Overdose deaths jumped about 30% in 2020, marking the highest spike in a single year, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, increasing the urgency for treatment focused on communities in need. Yet more work remains to be done to reach communities in need, addiction experts say. “You have communities that were absolutely devastated by mass incarceration, over policing, child welfare environment, the designation of ‘crack babies.’ Then fast forward to the opioid epidemic. And we’re sort of asking people to trust a system that is not built for them and has historically dehumanized them,” McLoyd said.
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/pharma-and-life-sciences/covid-sets-stage-for-biden-to-tackle-addiction-treatment-access