HELP IS ON THE WAY: H.627 BECOMES LAW

 

I wanted to take a moment to thank Governor Shumlin for choosing Turning Point St. Albans to celebrate the singing of H.627 An Act Creating a Regional Opioid Addiction Treatment Program.

Two years ago, I pledged to put my experience in state government and our communities shared values to work for St. Albans in the House of Representatives.  A large piece of that vow was to work with diligence and with anyone willing to help, to find meaningful solutions to our state's growing prescription drug abuse problem. 

Early on, it became clear that one of our biggest allies was the guy who took my old boss's old job. From the time I arrived in Montpelier, I worked closely with Commissioner Keith Flynn and others on the Governor's staff as well, as Sen. John Campbell, to support and sponsor legislation on the variety of ways opioid abuse, diversion and the crime that comes with it, affect our state and communities.

H.627 will build an extensive network where those seeking treatment can find it. It will allow patients to receive appropriate, comprehensive assessments to provide short or long-term treatment. It will improve education and training requirements for health care providers, pharmacists, and licensed clinical professionals.

And it will hold patients accountable to rules of conduct, designed to prevent diversion or relapse. Those of us who have seen the affects of prescription drug abuse understand that, without available, appropriate treatment, we will never curtail this problem.This addiction affects friends and family from all walks of life, who desperately want and need our help now, more than ever.

The more Vermonters places like Turning Point and this new program can help the stronger we become in this fight.Because with every success story, comes another person who can show someone struggling with addiction, the path to recovery.

I'm reminded of a quick story about a man was walking down the street and he fell into a hole. After a few hours, a pastor walked by and the man yelled up, "Pastor, I'm stuck in this hole and can't get out,  could you help me?"

The pastor thought for a minute, wrote a prayer down on a piece of paper, threw it in the hole and kept walking.

A few hours later, a local politician walked by and the man renewed his plea for help. The politician responded, "I can't do much right now, but if you vote for me on Tuesday I'll be sure to address our city's crumbling infrastructure," and he walked away.

Finally, one of the man's best friends walked by and before he could say anything, the friend had jumped in the hole with him.

"What are you doing?" the man said? "Now we're both in the hole!"

His friend smiled, looked at him and said, "Yea, but I've been here before and I know the way out." That’s the real weapon of recovery and why places like Turning Point are so vital to this fight. The work done on the ground and in the community is more important than anything the legislature or any governor can do.

But there certainly is plenty that state government can do and this bill will begin expand the network of recovery and if successful, help reverse the tide and begin to make real progress on what I believe to be my generation's greatest fight.

There's more to be done. In the coming session we must work to find a way to increase access of the Vermont Prescription Monitoring System to the Department of Public Safety. 

We must renew our pledge, to continue our work and strive to build a blueprint for the nation on how best to combat an addiction that threatens the very fabric of communities across the country.

So again, I want to thank Governor Shumlin for his inclusive and invaluable leadership on this important issue. We need all the help we can get if we're going to make progress, and the Governor's is vital to our success.

Rep. Dustin A. Degree

St. Albans City