Opiod commission calls for more drug courts – but no new money

Associated Press
Thursday 2 November 2017 12.37 GMT

Donald Trump’s commission on the opioid crisis has called for more drug courts, more training for doctors, and penalties for insurers that dodge covering addiction treatment.

The panel’s final report stopped short, however, of calling for new dollars to address the worst drug crisis in US history.

Instead, the commission asked Congress for “sufficient funds” and suggested giving the White House drug czar’s office the ability to review federal spending on the problem.

“If we are to invest in combating this epidemic, we must invest in only those programs that achieve quantifiable goals and metrics,” the report said. The drug czar’s office “must establish a system of tracking and accountability”.

But adding a new layer of oversight was met with skepticism from addiction treatment advocates. The Office of National Drug Control Policy, known as the drug czar’s office, “is not a watchdog agency”, said Andrew Kessler, a behavioral health consultant in Washington DC.

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