Katherine Clark: “A special thanks to Congresswoman Brooks, Congressman Kennedy, and Congressman Pallone for introducing this important…”

“A special thanks to Congresswoman Brooks, Congressman Kennedy, and Congressman Pallone for introducing this important bipartisan bill to address a devastating public health crisis. The opioid epidemic is a scourge on this country. In my district alone, 400 people have died in the last 4 years as a direct result. As we all know, there is no silver bullet to fix this problem. But what we can do and what we must do is find every possible way to help those people already affected and stop it from reaching more victims. When substance use disorder starts in adolescence, it affects key development and societal changes in young people's lives. It can interfere with the brain's ability to mature properly and have potentially lifelong consequences. We know that a large majority of adults in substance abuse treatment start using prior to the age of 18, and we need to make sure that the voices of adolescents and young adults are heard in this conversation. The underlying bill establishes a pain management task force that will include many different stakeholders and experts. This amendment would add an expert in adolescent and young adult addiction and a person in recovery from addiction to medication for chronic pain that began in adolescence or young adulthood to the bill's list of experts. This amendment would also call on the task force to consider the distinct needs of adolescents and young adults as it develops best practices for pain management and medication. Mr.…”