Safe Passage allows people struggling with addiction to turn in their drugs and ask for help from participating law enforcement agencies. The Safe Passage program began in Massachusetts and spread to Illinois in 2015. Since then, other communities’ law enforcement agencies have adopted the initiative, including Taylorville, Kincaid, Pana, Springfield, Lincoln, McLean County and Livingston County; others continue to be added to the program, including most recently Mattoon. This program has the possibility of expanding to other states, including Indiana.
According to preliminary research from a 13-year study period, more than a quarter of all opioid overdoses in the United States involve teenagers, with a fifth of those cases likely suicide attempts. The proportion of suspected child suicides due to an opioid poisoning increased from 14 percent in 2005 to more than 21 percent in 2018. Recommendations focus on keeping opioids out of sight and reach of children and teens to reduce accidental exposure and intentional drug misuse.
Some of ONDCP’s goals include:
- Increase the use of prescription drug monitoring programs.
- Disrupt the sale of illicit substances on the internet.
- Reduce opioid use among youth.
- Increase the number of health care workers who can prescribe buprenorphine.
These goals are a small part of the White House’s strategy. The overarching strategic outcome is: “Building a stronger, healthier, drug-free society today and in the years to come by drastically reducing the number of Americans losing their lives to drug addiction in today’s crisis, and preparing now to dominate the drug environment of the future. This will be done by preventing initiates to drug use, providing treatment services leading to long-term recovery for those suffering from addiction, and aggressively reducing the availability of illicit drugs in America’s communities.”
|