The two chairs of the Florida congressional delegation--Republican U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan and Democratic U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings--announced on Tuesday they will hold a meeting later this week on the heroin crisis plaguing the Sunshine State.
Buchanan and Hastings announced they would hold a meeting on Capitol Hill on Thursday with U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wisc., Melissa Larkin-Skinner, the chief clinical officer of Centerstone Behavioral Hospital and Outpatient Practice in Bradenton which helps more than 15,000 addicts a year, and Frank Rabbito, the senior vice president of WestCare Foundation in Miami which focuses on behavioral issues.
Noting there were more heroin related deaths in Manatee County, which he represents, than any other county in Florida, Buchanan insisted the Sunshine State was facing a crisis.
“Countless families in Florida and across the country have borne witness to the tragic consequences of drug addiction and opiate abuse,” Buchanan said. “The growing heroin crisis requires a serious and comprehensive approach by Congress. I look forward to discussing thoughtful solutions with my colleagues and experts on Thursday.”
Earlier this week, the Florida Medical Examiners Commission released a report showing an increase in heroin-related deaths during the first half of 2015 compared to the first half of 2014. On average, more than 120 Americans die each die due to heroin.
Sensenbrenner will showcase his “Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Act” (CARA) which, he insists, “offers a critical first step toward ending heroin and opioid addiction." The bill sets up “community-based anti-drug coalitions, a national education campaign aimed at deterring new and young users from trying the drug, and creating alternative incarceration programs and outpatient treatment centers for non-violent drug offenders.”
The Wisconsin Republican brought out his bill last year and highlighted in earlier this year. The bill is being backed in the Senate by U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI.
“For more than a decade, there has been an alarming rise in heroin and opioid addiction, causing devastation to individuals, families, and communities throughout the nation” Sensenbrenner noted back in February. “Last year, I introduced the Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Act to address this serious problem. With a Senate companion bill and the FDA’s newly reaffirmed commitment to finding solutions, I’m confident in the direction our country is headed toward solving widespread addiction.”
