Political Quotes

“I want to thank my colleagues very much for organizing this Special Order and for the bipartisan approach to dealing with such a challenging issue. I would like to rise today to share some of the stories, as my colleagues have, about my constituents whose lives have been impacted by addiction. We are now so well aware that addiction to prescription opioids is on the rise nationwide. In my home State of Maine, that trend has also been accompanied by a drastic increase in the use of heroin and other illicit drugs. Sadly, now heroin and other drugs provide a cheaper, more readily available alternative to diverted prescription medicines. The unpredictable formulations of these drugs, which can vary drastically in toxicity, have made Maine's epidemic of addiction particularly deadly. In cities, small towns, and rural areas across the State, people are dying each week. Everyone knows someone--a family member, a friend, a neighbor--who has overdosed. No one is immune. People from every background, income level, and generation are at risk. One of the individuals we have tragically lost was a brother of a staff member of mine. His name was David McCarthy, and his struggle with addiction was captured in a feature this summer in The Washington Post, entitled, ``And Then He Decided Not to Be.'' David, who had been sober for several months, relapsed on the evening before he left home to return to his winter job at a ski resort.…”