Substance-abuse prevention and rehab services
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Substance abuse in the U.S. is fast becoming a modern pandemic, and the country is facing a growing need for substance-abuse prevention and rehab services. This need has called for necessary legislative action to be taken, and several bills have been passed to address this concern.
During the 2016 legislative session, the national bills introduced focused on primary prevention of substance abuse and in providing grants from national stakeholders, to create individual state treatments. Numerous bills introduced at the national level amended other previously passed substance abuse bills. These bills focused on two groups, general substances, which refer to the abuse of multiple drugs, including opioids; and opioids, in which the opioid abuse bills focus specifically on opioids and heroin.
The Access to Substance Abuse Treatment Act of 2016 (H.R. 4378), was introduced on January 13, 2016. HB 4378 affects multiple national organizations, including the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). This bill amends the Public Health Service Act, which requires SAMHSA to provide grants to increase the availability of treatment for the abuse of opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine, ecstasy, and Phencyclidine (PCP). Vouchers are also to be provided to individuals in underserved populations for services relating to treatment and programs established to provide and coordinate provisions of services, such as house assistance and job service training, to those reentering the community after successful drug treatment.
The bill passed the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, but its progress was interrupted when it was not scheduled for another hearing. Testimonies for this bill were unavailable; however, representatives in Arizona, Illinois, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington were cosponsors of this bill.