A U.S. bill that provides resources to battle the ongoing opioid epidemic was signed into law by President Barack Obama on July 22.
The bill, S.524 or the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016, introduces a number of strategies to combat and prevent opioid addiction at the local, state, and federal level, including the following:
- Providing grants to states to strengthen prescription drug monitoring programs
- Allowing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to increase chronic pain research and develop safe, alternative treatments
- Convening a task force, including dentists, to determine best practices for chronic and acute pain management
- Increasing the number of opioid overdose reversal drugs
In a statement, President Obama applauded the steps the bill took to combat the epidemic but criticized that the act didn't go far enough to help individuals receive treatment.
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