INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – As states continue to address the epidemic of heroin and opioid-based painkiller addiction and its devastating effect on public health, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller and37 other state and territorial attorneys general today sent a letter to the leadership of the Committee on the Judiciary for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives urging passage of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2015.

The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (S. 524/HR 953) would provide states with the necessary tools to more effectively confront the growing challenge of heroin and opioid abuse and addiction.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), drug overdoses now surpass automobile accidents as the leading cause of injury-related death for Americans between the ages of 25 and 64.  More than 100 Americans die as a result of overdose in this country every day – more than half of them caused by prescription drugs or heroin.

“Indiana is not alone in its fight against rising heroin and opioid addiction,” said Zoeller, creator and co-chair of Indiana’s Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force. “This nationwide epidemic demands a comprehensive response with a strong focus on addiction treatment and recovery. Law enforcement and health-care solutions must be implemented in tandem if we hope to see real impact and save lives.”

The more than 100-member Task Force – made up of medical professionals, law enforcement, lawmakers and other stakeholders in Indiana – is supportive of the proposed federal legislation.

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, only about 10 percent of Americans who need treatment for drug addiction are receiving it.

In the letter, the attorneys general write, “Law enforcement has always been on the frontline when it comes to drug crises, but we cannot arrest ourselves out of this current epidemic.  Research shows the best way to address this challenge is though a strategy that includes prevention, law enforcement, reduction of overdose deaths, evidence-based treatment, and support for those in, or seeking, recovery.”

The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2015 would:

• Expand prevention and educational efforts – particularly aimed at teens, parents and other caretakers, and aging populations – to prevent the abuse of opioids and heroin and to promote treatment and recovery;
• Expand the availability of naloxone to law enforcement agencies and other first responders to help in the reversal of overdoses to save lives;
• Expand resources to identify and treat incarcerated individuals suffering from addiction disorders promptly by collaborating with criminal justice stakeholders and by providing evidence-based treatment;
• Expand disposal sites for unwanted prescription medications to keep them out of the hands of children and adolescents;
• Launch an evidence-based opioids and heroin treatment and intervention program to assist in treatment and recovery throughout the country; and
• Strengthen prescription drug monitoring programs to help states monitor and track prescription drug diversion and to help at-risk individuals access services.

Zoeller said Indiana has made important gains to reduce opioid abuse – including more oversight for pain clinic operators, stronger reporting requirements to the state’s prescription drug monitoring program, increased medication disposal options, and greater access to addiction treatment services and to the overdose antidote naloxone – but federal support is needed to further such efforts.

Earlier this month, the Task Force met with the U.S. Surgeon General to discuss the prescription drug abuse epidemic in Indiana, progress being made to combat this scourge and areas of continued need.

More information on the Task Force, the Attorney General’s efforts to reduce prescription drug abuse and resources for the public can be found at www.BitterPill.in.gov.

A copy of the letter sent to the Senate and House Committees on the Judiciary today is available here.