By Greg Halbleib
As legislation moves through Capitol Hill to deal with a growing opioid problem, Congressman Rodney Davis wants addicts to be viewed less as criminals and more as people needing help.
PODCAST: Listen to Scott Laughlin’s interview with Congressman Rodney Davis here.
Davis told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin simply putting people in prison won’t reduce the problem.
“I remember one young lady who just got out (of prison),” Davis said, “and by the time she got out we had gone from bag phones to iPhones. How is that going to help her addiction when she comes into society so far behind?”
Davis favors more funding for treatment facilities to reduce the loads on prisons and provide help for people battling addictions to opioids including painkillers. The Taylorville Republican also says doctors who over-prescribe opioids must be reigned in, plus the illicit supply of the drugs must be stopped.
“If doctors knowingly prescribe amounts more than they should, they should be held accountable just like drug dealers should,” Davis said. “We also need to stop the cartels from south of the border that are supplying a lot of the drugs now that can’t be made legally in America.”
Davis favors increased funding for treatment instead of putting addicts in the same category as hard criminals and sentencing them to long prison terms.
Greg Halbleib can be reached at [email protected].
