Legislation Aimed at Helping Children Affected by Methamphetamine Approved by Full Senate;
House Approves Version of the Legislation without Provision for Methamphetamine Treatment
On July 13th, the full Senate approved S.
3525, the "Improving Outcomes for Children Affected by Meth Act of 2006." The Senate-approved bill would reauthorize the Safe and
Stable Families program within the Department of Health and Human Services and would authorize additional funding for treatment programs that serve
parents who are addicted to methamphetamine and their families.
Under the Senate-approved legislation, S. 3525 would
authorize a $40 million grant program through the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Safe and Stable Families program that would provide
funds to regional partnerships that work to increase the well being of and improve the permanency outcomes for children affected by methamphetamine
use and addiction. Entities eligible to receive grant funds would include: state agencies responsible for administering the
Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment block grant program, child welfare service providers, community providers of health or mental health
services, law enforcement agencies, courts, juvenile justice officials, schools, and state child welfare agencies. Grant funds
would be disbursed based on demonstrated need, and priority would be given to entities in rural areas that have been significantly affected by
methamphetamine use and addiction by parents/caretakers, have limited resources, and lack access to comprehensive treatment services.
Funds would be required to be used for services and activities that seek to improve the well-being and permanence of children affected by
methamphetamine use and addiction, and if appropriate the child's family. Proposed uses include providing family-based, long term,
comprehensive drug treatment; early intervention services; prevention services; counseling; mental health services; and parenting skills
training.
On July 25th the full House approved a different version
of S. 3525 named the "Child and Family Services Improvement Act of 2006." The House-approved version of the legislation also
reauthorizes the Safe and Stable Families program, but does not include the provisions on improving access to methamphetamine addiction treatment
found in the Senate bill. Instead, the House version of S. 3525 would target $40 million to support monthly caseworker visits with
children who are in foster care.
Additional information about both the House- and Senate-approved
versions of S. 3525 can be found at: http://thomas.loc.gov/.
Legislation to Reduce Sentencing Distinction between Crack and Powder Cocaine Offenses Introduced in the
Senate
On July 25th, Senators Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Mark Pryor
(D-AR), John Cornyn (R-TX) and Ken Salazar (D-CO) introduced S. 3725, the "Drug Sentencing Reform Act of 2006." This legislation
seeks to lessen the distinction in sentencing between crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses by both decreasing the amount for powder cocaine and
increasing the amount of crack required to trigger mandatory minimum sentences. Currently, mandatory minimum sentences in the
federal law require significantly harsher punishments for offenses involving crack cocaine than for offenses related to powder cocaine.
S. 3725 would amend the Controlled Substances and Controlled
Substances Import and Export Acts to:
- Decrease the amounts of powder cocaine necessary to
trigger a ten-year mandatory minimum sentence from 5 to 4 kilograms and a five-year mandatory minimum sentence from 500 to 400
grams
- Increase the amounts of crack cocaine necessary to
trigger a ten-year mandatory minimum sentence from 50 grams to 200 grams and a five-year mandatory minimum sentence from 5 to 20
grams
S. 3725 also directs the United States Sentencing Commission to
review and amend the Federal sentencing guidelines and policy statements to ensure that guideline offense levels based on the amount of powder
cocaine and crack cocaine are consistent with the above provisions. In addition, S. 3725 instructs the Sentencing Commission to
increase possible penalties if the defendant: maintained an establishment to manufacture or distribute a controlled substance; distributed a
controlled substance to a person under 18 years old, over 64 years or to a pregnant woman; used a deadly weapon; or led drug trafficking
activities. S. 3725 would also set up a pilot program for elderly, nonviolent incarcerated people which would allow eligible
individuals to be put on home detention for a certain part of their imprisonment term.
Following its introduction, S. 3725 was referred to the Senate
Judiciary Committee for review. Additional information about S. 3725, including the bill's text and status, can be found at
http://thomas.loc.gov/.
Congressional Briefing Held on Use of Buprenorphine for Treatment of Opioid Addiction; Presenters Emphasize Effectiveness of
Medication and Advocate for Repeal of Law that Limits Number of Patients Doctors can Treat
On August 3rd, Senators Carl Levin (D-MI)
and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) sponsored a bipartisan press conference and symposium on the use of buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid
addiction. The event provided an opportunity for federal officials, individuals in recovery, and addiction treatment and medical
professionals to discuss both the positive and negative experiences associated with use of the medication; in addition the briefing's sponsors sought
to increase public awareness about buprenorphine since less than two percent of primary care physicians have applied for certification to dispense the
drug. Presenters spoke about how buprenorphine has proven successful in treating people with addictions to heroin as well as other
opioids such as Vicodin and OxyContin. Speakers at the press conference and symposium included: Senators Hatch and Levin; Dr. Nora
Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse; Dr. Westley Clark, Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment at the Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA); Herbert Kleber, Director of the Division on Substance Abuse in the College of Physicians
and Surgeons at Columbia University; Charles Schuster, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at the Wayne State University School of
Medicine; David Fiellin, Associate Professor of Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine; Jim Finch, Family Practice Physician from Durham,
North Carolina; and Terry Horton, M.D., Medical Director, Phoenix House.
Senator Carl Levin provided comments at the symposium,
discussing legislation he cosponsored and helped to pass into law, "the Drug Abuse Treatment Act of 2000." This legislation
modified the Controlled Substances Act to allow the dissemination of opioids for the use of drug treatment in doctor's offices.
However, Senator Levin and a number of the other presenters expressed concern that the current law requires that doctors maintain a limit of
30 patients who are under their care and for whom they are prescribing buprenorphine, and argued that this policy is a significant barrier to
dissemination of the medication. A number of the physicians presenting at the symposium reported having to turn people away
because they were either at or over their 30 patient limit and that they felt this conflicted with a doctor's professional and moral obligation to
provide treatment to those in need.
Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on
Drug Abuse (NIDA), provided comments on the value of using buprenorphine to treat opioid addiction; in particular its effectiveness in relieving drug
cravings without potential for dependence or dangerous side effects. Dr. Volkow stated that although new and effective medications
are available, individuals with opioid addiction cannot readily obtain them because of an insufficient infrastructure for their
distribution. In addition, Dr. Volkow noted the stigma still associated with medication-assisted treatment but expressed that
buprenorphine presents an opportunity for people to seek help and live healthy, productive lives. Dr. Westley Clark of the Center
for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) stated that the availability of buprenorphine in office-based settings will open more doors to
treatment. He emphasized that buprenorphine represents an important breakthrough because it has proven to be effective in treating
addiction to both non-prescription and prescription opioids.
Additional speakers, including a number of physicians and
researchers, expressed that buprenorphine is a significant medical breakthrough and that the medication positively impacts the way that heroin
addiction can be treated. Because doctors are now able to prescribe the drug in their offices a number of the speakers emphasized
there is potential that more people will seek treatment because of the lack of stigma attached to visiting a private doctor and receiving a
prescription. Also discussed was the adoption by Phoenix House, a primarily abstinence-based model of long-term drug treatment, of
the short term use of buprenorphine-naloxone as an initial bridge to continued care and to improve access to their program. In
addition, two individuals who have taken buprenorphine to assist with their opioid addiction spoke about their positive experiences with the
medication and how it has helped their recovery process.
Additional information about the briefing can be found on Senator
Levin's website at: http://levin.senate.gov/newsroom/release.cfm?id=261270.
Please note that Congress has
begun its annual August recess and will resume the 109th Session after Labor Day Weekend. Accordingly, the next edition
of the Washington Weekly Roundup will be distributed on September 8th.
