Poll: Most Americans wary of those suffering from addiction, despite recognition of medical condition (AP)

Thursday Apr 5th, 2018

A slim majority of Americans see prescription drug addiction as a disease that requires medical treatment, but most would not welcome those suffering from the problem into their neighborhoods, workplaces, or families.

New survey results reveal Americans’ complex view of addiction as the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S. history ripples through communities nationwide. More than 1 in 10 Americans say they have had a relative or close friend die from an opioid overdose, according a recent survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Those figures worry Baltimore Health Commissioner Leana Wen, who says it’s counterproductive to blame people for their medical conditions.

“If somebody is afflicted with heart disease or cancer then everybody brings that person or their family a casserole, but if someone is afflicted with addiction then they don’t have the same community support,” Wen said.

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To much fanfare last year, President Donald Trump ordered his administration to declare a public health emergency over the opioid epidemic. “As Americans, we cannot allow this to continue,” Trump said at the time. “It is time to liberate our communities from this scourge of drug addiction.”

When I’ve asked experts about these approaches, it’s not that any of them are bad. It’s that they fall short. For instance, Leana Wen, the former health commissioner of Baltimore (and soon-to-be president of Planned Parenthood), said that the Support for Patients and Communities Act “is simply tinkering around the edges.”

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