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Tag: Elizabeth Warren

  • Elizabeth Warren Outlines Opioid Response Plan

    Elizabeth Warren Outlines Opioid Response Plan

    Warren says an aggressive response is needed to turn the tide on the opioid epidemic. 

    If she is elected President of the United States, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) will spend $100 billion on responding to the opioids crisis, she said in a post on Medium. 

    Warren’s plan is an updated version of the CARE Act, which she introduced along with Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD). The legislation never gained much traction, but Warren said that an aggressive response is needed to turn the tide on the opioid epidemic. 

    Warren compared her opioid response plan to the Ryan White CARE Act, which funded a national response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and ultimately helped to bring down the death rate.  

    “This is not the first time our country has faced a national public health crisis of great magnitude. When deaths from HIV/AIDS grew rapidly in the 1980s, our country’s medical system was ill-equipped to respond,” Warren wrote. “In 1990, Congress passed the Ryan White CARE Act, which finally provided significant new, guaranteed funding to help state and local governments combat the growing epidemic and provided a safety net for those living with the disease. A similar national mobilization is needed to confront the opioid epidemic today.”

    Warren said that her plan would provide “resources directly to first responders, public health departments, and communities on the front lines of this crisis — so that they have the resources to provide prevention, treatment, and recovery services for those who need it most.”

    The funds would be distributed over 10 years to governments and nonprofits that are working to respond to the opioid epidemic. However, organizations would be given leeway to use the funding in the way that they believe would be most effective. 

    “Resources would be used to support the whole continuum of care, from early intervention for those at risk for addiction, to harm reduction for those struggling with addiction, to long-term support services for those in recovery,” Warren wrote. “Along with addiction treatment, the CARE Act would ensure access to mental health services and help provide critical wraparound services like housing support and medical transportation for those who need them.”

    In addition to crafting a proactive response, Warren said that she would like to see the executives of companies that have contributed to the opioid epidemic held criminally responsible. 

    “The opioid epidemic teaches us that too often in America today, if you have money and power, you can take advantage of everyone else without consequence. I think it’s time to change that,” she wrote. 

    She continued, “Rather than blaming the victims, we need to make sure a crisis like this never happens again.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Democrats Embrace Legalization In 2020 Primaries

    Democrats Embrace Legalization In 2020 Primaries

    A number of presidential hopefuls have been vocal about their experiences with marijuana and their desire to end its federal prohibition.

    Just a few election cycles ago, presidential candidates had to carefully craft their answers when asked whether they had ever tried marijuana. Heading into the 2020 campaign, however, many prominent Democratic candidates are vocally supporting marijuana legalization at the federal level. 

    Last week, U.S. Senator and presidential hopeful Cory Booker introduced legislation in the Senate that would legalize cannabis and expunge the records of people who have been convicted of federal marijuana-related expenses. Four other presidential candidates—Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren—co-sponsored the bill. 

    The movement also has momentum outside Congress. Former Texas congressman and likely candidate Beto O’Rourke sent an email to supporters this week announcing his support for changes to federal marijuana policy, according to Reuters. 

    “We should end the federal prohibition on marijuana and expunge the records of those who were locked away for possessing it, ensuring that they can get work, finish their education, contribute to the greatness of this country,” O’Rourke wrote. 

    Senator Kamala Harris opposed an effort to legalize cannabis in California in 2010. (A later measure legalized recreational cannabis in the state.) However, she recently joked about marijuana use, riffing on President Bill Clinton’s infamous remark during the 1992 election that he had smoked marijuana, but did not inhale. 

    “I inhaled,” Harris said. “Half of my family’s from Jamaica. Are you kidding me?”

    Bernie Sanders has said that he tried cannabis, but didn’t like it and “nearly coughed my brains out.” He added, “It didn’t do a whole lot for me.”  

    Still, Sanders has been outspoken about the need to legalize cannabis. His home state of Vermont was the first in the nation to legalize cannabis through legislative action rather than a vote. 

    “Too many lives are being destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of people get criminal records. You know why? Because they have smoked marijuana,” Sanders said this week. 

    Another candidate, former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, has been more cautious in his attitude toward marijuana reform. Despite the fact that he led a state that legalized marijuana early on, Hickenlooper has not called for federal legalization. However, he said that states should have the choice and federal banking laws need to change if that happens. 

    Polls show that most Americans—of both parties—favor legalizing cannabis. Among Democrats, three-quarters of voters feel that federal prohibition has to end. This cultural shift likely explains the enthusiasm from candidates, said Erik Altieri, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). 

    “The Democratic candidates are just acknowledging the practical and political reality—this is not only good policy, it’s good politics,” he said. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Inside Elizabeth Warren's Plan To Address The Opioid Epidemic

    Inside Elizabeth Warren's Plan To Address The Opioid Epidemic

    Warren is one of the few 2020 presidential candidates to have discussed a plan to confront the opioid epidemic.

    As more names are being thrown into the hat for the 2020 presidential race, only one has spoken up about her plans to address the opioid epidemic.

    Elizabeth Warren has made some strides to combat the opioid crisis during her time as a U.S. Senator, according to Vox, and plans to continue to do so during her run for presidency.

    In her time in Congress, she has made a push for additional research into alternatives to opioids. She has also voiced her opinions about President Donald Trump’s response to the epidemic, calling it “pathetic.” 

    In 2018, Warren and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) introduced the Comprehensive Addiction Resources Emergency (CARE) Act to Congress. If put into play, the bill would spread $100 billion to various states and organizations to fight the crisis over a 10-year period.  

    “Our communities are on the front lines of the epidemic, and they’re working hard to fight back,” Warren tells Vox. “But they can’t do it alone. They can’t keep nibbling around the edges.”

    Warren is one of the few 2020 presidential candidates to have discussed a plan to confront the opioid epidemic. This could be because her state of Massachusetts has been hit particularly hard by the crisis with its drug overdose deaths at 31.8 per 100,000 in 2017, compared to the national average of 21.7.

    The CARE Act, according to some experts, is one of the only plans presented with potential to make a difference in the epidemic. Keith Humphreys, a drug policy expert at Stanford University, tells Vox that Warren’s bill “is the only one that really grasps the nettle of how big the problem is.” 

    “Whatever else people might say about it, this is the first thing that really recognizes that [the opioid crisis] is a massive public health problem, like AIDS, and is not going to be solved by a tweak here, a tweak there,” he adds.

    The $100 billion involved in the CARE Act would be used in various ways, according to Vox. Some would be given to local government and nonprofits and some would be spread to numerous states, territories and tribal governments.

    This could be determined by overdose levels in certain areas, but some funding would also be given through a competitive grant process. Remaining funding would be dedicated to treatment, research, training and more access to overdose antidote naloxone. 

    Despite the support of some experts, Warren and Cumming’s bill has not made great progress in Congress. In the House, according to Vox, it received only 81 cosponsors, and in the Senate, it got none. Still, the two plan to reintroduce the bill in coming months. 

    Warren hasn’t hesitated to point out President Trump’s failure to deliver on his promises. In 2016, Trump said he would “spend the money” to confront the opioid epidemic. 

    “The Trump administration has treated this crisis like a photo op,” Warren tells Vox. “They talk a good game and produce nothing.”

    Although the CARE Act likely would not be able to address the entire epidemic on its own, it would be a start, Warren says.

    “Resources make a difference,” Warren tells Vox. “Not strong words. Not photo ops. But real money. Without real resources, the opioid crisis will continue to grow.”

    View the original article at thefix.com