End Substance Use Disorder Applauds President Biden for Featuring Key Overdose Prevention Measures in State of the Union Address

This evening in his State of the Union address, President Biden highlighted the need to continue to work together in bipartisan manner to end the overdose crisis.

In particular, President Biden noted the recent passage of the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act as the primary achievement under his Unity Agenda: “That’s why a year ago, I offered a Unity Agenda for the nation. We’ve made real progress. Together, we passed a law making it easier for doctors to prescribe effective treatments for opioid addiction.” End Substance Use Disorder and its coalition of nearly 550 organizations championed that policy.

Erin Schanning, president of End Substance Use Disorder, released the following statement:

“End Substance Use Disorder applauds President Biden for his steadfast leadership to protect our loved ones from overdoses. We are particularly grateful to the President for supporting the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act and for highlighting its passage during the State of the Union. The MAT Act proves that we can come together - Republicans, Democrats, and Independents - to safeguard our families and communities from drug use.”

In his speech, the President featured several solutions to prevent and treat substance use disorder and support recovery. In addition to removing barriers that prevented health care providers from prescribing lifesaving medication to treat opioid use disorder, President Biden also called for expanding access to naloxone, telehealth, and treatment in jails and prisons.

Read about President Biden’s substance use disorder priorities featured in the State of the Union here.