Kaine Applauds New Effort To Curb Heroin, Prescription Opioid Abuse In Virginia
2014 National Drug Control Strategy announced today in Roanoke
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine issued a statement following the Obama Administration’s announcement of the 2014 National Drug Control Strategy at Blue Ridge Behavioral Health in Roanoke today. The Administration is investing $25.5 billion to help tackle the growing heroin and prescription opioid epidemic through new public health and criminal justice initiatives:
“Heroin and prescription opioid drug abuse has posed significant economic and public health challenges for the Roanoke Valley and other communities across the Commonwealth. The Administration’s decision to announce its new drug control strategy in Roanoke today is a testament to the city’s successful community-based approach to solving the scourge of addiction. Law enforcement, recovery and prevention specialists, as well as local businesses have come together to support and bolster evidence-based programs that have given citizens their neighborhoods back from drug dealers.
“I’m proud of Roanoke and other Virginia communities for effectively employing tools that the new drug control strategy emphasizes, including: drug courts, High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area grants, Drug Free Community status, and Drug Marketing Intervention programs. Rather than stigmatizing addiction, we should focus on research and use scientific knowledge to better inform our criminal justice and treatment policies.”
Kaine recently visited Kaléo, the Richmond-based pharmaceutical company that developed the first and only naloxone auto-injector used to reverse the effect of an opioid overdose. He has also urged Governor Terry McAuliffe to establish a statewide task force to address the growing heroin epidemic in Virginia.
On Friday, July 18, Kaine will be in Roanoke to deliver remarks at the 23rd Judicial Circuit of Virginia’s Drug Court graduation ceremony.
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