Mike Levin: “the amendment Senator Hatch and I have offered, which the Senate has adopted, is a life-saving amendment. It will help…”

“the amendment Senator Hatch and I have offered, which the Senate has adopted, is a life-saving amendment. It will help to mend broken lives and shattered families that are living with the scourge of drug addiction and are struggling to rid themselves of this dreadful disease. Our sense of the Senate amendment supports $20 million in fiscal year 2004 for drug treatment programs that utilize a newly FDA approved substance called buprenorphine, which blocks the craving for heroin. The costs of substance abuse treatment are minimal when compared to the resulting savings. According to a national study of treatment programs that are funded by HHS's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, the average savings per individual in the year after treatment was approximately $9,200--more than three times the average cost of one treatment period. Another study by the RAND Corporation found that treatment is 10 times more cost effective than interdiction in reducing societal costs of certain illegal drugs. The U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has estimated that 57 percent of those who need drug treatment do not receive it, despite its proven cost effectiveness over criminal justice approaches in reducing drug abuse and related social costs.”