Beto O’Rourke unveiled a comprehensive plan to address substance use disorders and immediately work towards ending the deadly opioid epidemic that took nearly 50,000 lives in 2017 and causes an economic burden of more than $78 billion per year. The plan focuses on investing in public awareness efforts, supporting access to treatment that enables long-term recovery, particularly for at-risk populations, targeting the supply chain and holding the pharmaceutical industry accountable while not denying medications for individuals for whom proper usage is life-sustaining pharmacotherapy, and helping those recovering from substance use disorders achieve economic stability.

“The only way that we will overcome the opioid epidemic and help those Americans living with substance use disorders is if we finally treat them not as a criminal justice problem but as individuals in need of support and recovery,” said O’Rourke. “We must hold pharmaceutical corporations accountable for the damage they’ve caused, while investing in public awareness efforts and supporting access to long-term recovery.”

The full plan—available here—is built around a four-part framework:

End the stigma around substance use disorders, focusing on public awareness by prioritizing prevention efforts, access to services, and long-term recovery. Beto will invest in public education campaigns to the scale of awareness raised around tobacco, while calling for a similar funding level paid to states to educate the public on prevention, risks, interventions, and recovery related to opioid and substance use disorders.

Support access to health care, treatment, and interventions that promote long-term recovery for all, particularly at risk populations such as veterans, Native Americans, formerly incarcerated individuals, and those living in rural communities. Beto will provide robust grants to states and localities that will address this public health crisis and support harm reduction programs through a new $100 billion Substance Use Disorder Fund. This will, in part, help expand access to medications that prevent overdose by ensuring first responders, law enforcement, and public spaces have naloxone, also known as Narcan, onsite while also training public employees on its administration. He will also remove barriers to preventing overdose and expanding access to medication-assisted recovery (MAR), ensuring mental health care and substance use disorder treatment are components under universal health care.

Target the supply chain by combating the illegal importation of fentanyl, and demanding accountability from the pharmaceutical industry through tighter government regulation and oversight. Beto will apply pressure on China to stem the illegal flow of fentanyl and ensure USPS has the resources needed to monitor it. He will also reallocate CBP staff that has been used in Trump’s political stunts so we have the resources necessary to conduct searches at ports of entry. However, Beto will also ensure that individuals with chronic pain -- for whom proper usage of opioids are life-sustaining pharmacotherapy—are not denied access to these medications.

Ensure those recovering from substance use disorders and opioid use disorder have economic stability by supporting individuals transitioning back into their communities. Beto will triple federal investment in grant funding for re-entry programs while creating five million paid apprenticeships over ten years.

Beto will highlight his new proposal today during a visit to the Iowa Harm Reduction Coalition Clinic in Cedar Rapids.

The plan is informed, in part, by Beto’s dedicated work in Congress where he repeatedly and reliably voted for legislation to combat the opioid epidemic. While a leader on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, he supported robust efforts, including 18 bills that were signed into law in 2016, to address the opioid crisis. These proposals included authorizing grant programs for veterans recovering from opioid use disorder and mandating safer opioid prescribing guidelines at the VA. In 2017, the El Paso Veterans Affairs Health Care System that Beto represented led the entire nation on reducing opioid prescribing rates—cutting it by 66% since 2012 as the national rate fell by 41%. Beto also helped introduce legislation to make it easier for veterans to receive medical cannabis in an effort to cut down on the overprescription of opioids.

Additionally, Beto’s plan takes direct lessons learned during his visit to SOS Recovery Community Center in Dover, N.H., where he heard firsthand from individuals living with substance use disorder and the treatment professionals who were working with them. He has also spoken with Representative Annie Kuster (NH-02) and local leaders about the state’s highly successful Safe Station program, and how it aids communities throughout New Hampshire as they confront the opioid epidemic. This was part of Beto’s ongoing commitment to listening to families directly impacted by opioid and substance use disorders during town halls held across America over the last seven months.