Political Quotes

“Mr. President, today, in an effort to decrease the rate of drug overdose deaths, I am pleased to be joined by Senators Durbin, Markey, Whitehouse, and Leahy in introducing the Overdose Prevention Act. Representative Donna Edwards has introduced a similar bill in the House. Throughout the country, the death rate from drug overdoses has been rapidly climbing. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, drug overdose death rates have more than tripled since 1990, and more than 110 Americans died each day from drug overdoses in 2011. More than half of these deaths are attributable to opioids, like prescription pain relievers or heroin. Indeed, this tragic epidemic has hit particularly hard in my home State of Rhode Island, where already in 2014, more than 100 individuals have died from apparent and confirmed drug overdoses. Americans aged 25 to 64 are now more likely to die as a result of a drug overdose than from injuries sustained in motor vehicle traffic crashes. While overdoses from illegal drugs persist as a major public health problem, fatal overdoses from prescribed opioid pain medications such as oxycodone account for more than 40 percent of all overdose deaths. It is clear that we must do more to stop these often preventable deaths. Fortunately, the drug naloxone, which has no side effects and no potential for abuse, is widely recognized as an important tool to help prevent drug overdose deaths.…”