This week, the Senate passed a bipartisan measure to address the drug epidemic that is crushing communities across America. The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) takes a broad step forward in the national response to the drug crisis.
This legislation, which will soon be signed into law by the president, contains several provisions that will help combat West Virginia's drug epidemic.
It expands prevention and education efforts, and promotes resources for treatment and recovery.
It includes reforms to help law enforcement respond to this epidemic, and paves the way for treatment alternatives to incarceration, such as the successful drug court programs that operate in West Virginia and many other states.
It expands the availability of naloxone, a life-saving drug that helps to reverse overdoses, and creates disposal sites for unwanted prescriptions. It will lead to safer and more effective pain management for our veterans who are battling addiction.
This legislation also requires the convening of a Pain Management Best Practices Interagency Task Force to review and update best practices for prescribing pain medication and managing chronic and acute pain. Over-prescription for acute pain, such as a broken bone, is one of the main causes of addiction.
Lastly, the bill includes provisions to protect this epidemic's youngest victims: babies born exposed to opioids during pregnancy. It will expand access to the specialized care they need, modeled after services like those at Lily's Place in Huntington.
As many grapple with addiction, this bill promises to make a real difference in the lives of individuals, families and communities across the nation.
More than 200 community, addiction and treatment organizations support this bill. Groups like the Addiction Policy Forum, the American Psychological Association, the National Association of Counties, the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers, and the Fraternal Order of Police.
"As you know, 129 Americans die each day as a result of drug overdose and this epidemic affects the public health and safety in every community across the country. This bill is the critical response we need," the groups wrote in a joint letter urging quick action on this legislation.
As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I have worked hard to ensure our states have the resources they need to win this fight, especially West Virginia, which has the unfortunate distinction of leading the nation in drug overdose deaths at more than twice the national average.
This means that far too many of those 129 Americans dying each day are West Virginians - our loved ones, friends, co-workers and neighbors.
The appropriations bills that have passed in committee this year provide significant new resources to combat opioid abuse. Funding to address heroin and opioid abuse is more than double last year's levels. There is additional funding for the National Guard's counter drug program and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program that have both seen success in West Virginia.
One grieving family in West Virginia recently wrote to me about their daughter's struggle with opioids: "My daughter got hooked on pain pills after her first pregnancy, (they were) so easy to get. A few seconds to take, a lifetime to fight."
These powerful words illustrate just how dire the situation is in West Virginia.
As long as the scourge of drug addiction remains, I will continue working to ensure communities have the resources they need to tackle this epidemic and save lives.
I will keep fighting for the veteran who relies on the VA programs to help treat their opioid addiction, the newborn born dependent on opioids, the addict who's willing to seek treatment, and every other person whose life is touched by this disease.
We are in jeopardy of losing a generation if we don't address this crisis now.
After working with local communities, law enforcement, health professionals and others to develop a spectrum of solutions to curb this epidemic, I am confident that the CARA legislation is a much-needed step in the right direction.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican, represents West Virginia.