Political Quotes

“There is a major front on the war on drugs that is only now getting the attention it deserves. We will be discussing it later today on the floor dealing with opioid addiction. Instead of arresting or citing over 600,000 people for marijuana last year, which had zero overdose deaths and which a majority of Americans think should be legal, we should redouble our efforts to fight the abuse of opioid prescription painkillers and the epidemic of opioid deaths. Because of reckless marketing and lax oversight, there is an overdose death every 19 minutes; 78 people a day die, 20,000 last year. This is directly related to many heroin addicts. Deaths on heroin are increasing because the addict's drug of choice when their supply of opioids is interrupted shifts to heroin. 2.1 million suffer from substance abuse and 1,000 people a day are admitted to emergency rooms for opoid related causes. We have a challenge that needs to be addressed. There is plenty of blame to go around: the drug company's marketing practices, pill mills and unscrupulous doctors whose government regulators were asleep at the switch; and the DEA, which cannot get its priorities or its story straight. I am hopeful that today's action on the floor will be the first step. As my friend and colleague from Connecticut pointed out, today's legislation really doesn't speak meaningfully to what we are going to have to do: prevention and treatment, which ultimately can help disrupt this cycle of abuse.…”