Sen. Tina Smith gets ideas to address the opioid crisis to take back to D.C.
That's the message state experts asked Democratic Sen.
"We have a pretty good idea what we need to do," Smith said Friday after hearing from a panel of experts assembled by the
Opioids killed 395 Minnesotans in 2016, an 18 percent increase over the year before. Nationwide, more than 33,000 people died from opioid overdoses, roughly 91 people per day.
Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death for people under 50 years-old.
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Last month, a group of
"We need the pharmaceutical companies to come to the table," said Dr.
Smith emphasized her support for a so-called "Penny a Pill" surcharge on opioids that would raise funding to pay for prevention and treatment efforts. Such legislation has bipartisan support in the
"I think it is something we ought to do both at the state and federal level," Smith said.
The federal government should remove barriers that hinder successful treatment methods including the use of drugs that ween addicts from opioids, health officials said.
And the stigma around addiction also needs to be addressed so addicts feel comfortable seeking help.
"It becomes their air," Howe said. "These people need help. They need medical treatment."
Law enforcement leaders also need to try new ways to deal with drug addiction.
"We can't arrest our way out of this problem," Schnell said. "We need to be more than a one-trick pony when it comes to our response to this."
Smith worked on addressing opioid addiction as lieutenant governor and told the group she plans to continue that advocacy in the
"I'm one voice in
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