Substance use disorder and addiction

Through improved treatment, prevention, and training, we can end this quiet epidemic once and for all.

“We’re not just now ‘discovering’ this problem. But we should be saying enough is enough. It’s time we recognize as a nation that for too long, we have had a quiet epidemic on our hands. Plain and simple, drug and alcohol addiction is a disease, not a moral failing—and we must treat it as such.”

HILLARY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

Substance use disorders are a problem that touches Americans everywhere, from our biggest cities to our smallest towns, and from our richest enclaves to our poorest neighborhoods. This is not a problem that appeared overnight. But it is one that is worsening, and the costs of not doing more are huge: reduced productivity, overloaded health care and criminal justice systems, and hundreds of thousands of human lives lost.

Hillary’s plan to combat America’s deadly epidemic of drug and alcohol addiction includes:

•Prevention. Hillary will empower communities to implement preventive programming for adolescents about drug use and addiction. She knows that education and early intervention is crucial to fighting this epidemic, so Hillary’s plan helps state and local leaders put into place effective, evidence-based programs tailored to their communities.

•Treatment and recovery. Substance use disorders are chronic diseases, and Hillary understands that recovery is only possible through effective and ongoing care—not neglect or stigmatization. Her plan focuses on ensuring that everyone who needs it has access to continuing support and treatment.

•First responders. Her plan ensures that all first responders have access to naloxone, which can prevent opioid overdoses from becoming fatal.

•Prescribers. Hillary’s initiative will require licensed prescribers to meet requirements for a minimum amount of training, and consult a prescription drug monitoring program before writing a prescription for controlled medications.

•Criminal justice reform. Her plan will prioritize rehabilitation and treatment over prison for low-level and nonviolent drug offenses, and work to end the era of mass incarceration. Additionally, it focuses on fostering more collaboration and coordination between public health and criminal justice to ensure continuity of care for those who suffer from substance use disorders.

Hillary’s initiative is built largely on federal-state partnerships that empower state and local leaders to effectively tailor programs to their communities. States that put forth specific plans for confronting this epidemic will be eligible to receive $4 of federal support for every $1 they commit.

Hillary’s plan also takes or calls for immediate federal actions, including:

•Increasing the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant

•Ensuring federal insurance parity laws are enforced

•Re-evaluating Medicare and Medicaid payment practices

•Removing obstacles to reimbursement and helping integrate care for addiction into standard practice

•Directing the attorney general to issue guidance on prioritizing treatment over imprisonment for nonviolent, low-level drug offenders.