Opioid Bill Reframes Addiction As A Health Problem, Not A Crime

A woman lobbying Congress holds two versions of naloxone which can be used to reverse an opioid overdose. (Photo by Al Drago/CQ-Roll Call Inc.)
The Senate is set to approve a bill intended to change the way police and health care workers treat people struggling with opioid addictions.
The bill is an amalgam of more than a dozen proposals passed through the year in the House and Senate. And while it has lots of new policies and provisions — from creating a task force to study how best to tr