Political Quotes

“Addiction is the number one killer in the United States. As it happens, the substance that lends addiction that distinction is not heroin but tobacco. Tobacco is responsible for 400,000 deaths a year. Regardless of the substance, though, the message is the same: addiction can kill. The Nation is well served by efforts to combat addiction to killer substances like heroin and tobacco. I appreciate the gentleman's interest in the heroin treatment initiative contained in this bill. I fully support the spirit of the bill as captured in its title. To win the war against drugs, however, we need to pay as much attention to the demand side of the equation as we do to the supply side. Fighting drugs means fighting drug producers and drug dealers. It also means preventing addiction, and it means treating addiction. In the context of this bill, that means expanding treatment options for heroin addiction. Last week, 600,000 Americans used heroin. Last year, 80,000 people were admitted to hospital emergency rooms around the country because of heroin.”