Is CARA’s Reach Far Enough?

(Fall 2016) Near the end of July, President Obama approved the $181-million Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) to fight the country’s expansive opioid abuse issues by helping communities create treatment and overdose initiatives. This includes money for the purchase of naloxone and training for first-responders to administer the life-saving antidote. The act also endorses alternatives to jail time for drug abusers and now permits physician assistants and nurse practitioners to administer drug abuse treatment medications.

Although considering CARA a step in the right direction, President Obama was still dissatisfied with the measure overall, feeling it lacks the necessary capital for solid addiction treatment. Some time ago the White House had, instead, outlined a $1.1-billion plan for the fiscal year 2017 to provide treatment services and avert fatal overdoses.

The CARA legislation marks the first time Congress has viewed addiction as a disease and the only federal measure passed to date that backs long-term addiction recovery efforts.

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