approve abuse-deterring drugs… recovery medications have the potential to save thousands and thousands of lives.”
Critics of a Narcan-heavy deterrence strategy point out that while the opioid blocker has indeed reversed approximately 10,000 overdoses since 1996, it does little to prevent an opiate addict from re-entering the cycle of addiction. There have been reports in some heroin-plagued areas of paramedics being called upon to administer Narcan to the same person on multiple occasions, bolstering concerns that abuse-deterrent drugs provide only a temporary fix for a deeper problem.
A representative from the California Department of Health Services, which oversees federally supported low-income drug rehabilitation for the most populous state in the nation, said they are unable to speculate how the incoming administration will affect their department’s ability to provide care at this time.
But based on Trump’s speeches to constituents in areas highly plagued with drugs, coupled with his support of a law-and-order approach and continuation of incremental policies like CARA, it appears that expansion or additional support of the drug rehabilitation industry is not likely to factor heavily in the incoming Trump administration’s policies.
