Stakeholders: Relief Bill Recognizes Substance Use But More Can Be Done

By Maya Goldman / March 4, 2021 at 3:04 PM
The COVID-19 pandemic has overshadowed policymakers’ attention to the opioid and substance use disorder crisis, stakeholders say, but provisions included in COVID-19 relief legislation are a good start in recognizing the connection between the two public health emergencies. After beginning to plateau in 2018 and 2019, overdose deaths spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic. Andrew Kolodny, a director of opioid policy research at Brandeis University, said the last year has shown that Americans might not have the attention span for two...


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