ABA committee on substance abuse testifies before congressional caucus
 The
American Bar Association has urged Congress to reduce discrimination in
health care, education and public benefits against individuals who are
in treatment or recovery. During a briefing held before the
Congressional Caucus on Addiction, Treatment and Recovery, a panel of
representatives from the ABA’s Standing Committee on Substance Abuse
discussed the development of recommendations and findings from an
initiative launched jointly by the ABA and Join Together, a project of
Boston University’s School of Public Health, “Substance Abuse,
Addiction and Discrimination.” The project analyzed a variety of public
policies addressing drug abuse and found that many have adverse
consequences for individuals in treatment or recovery.
In testimony submitted to the caucus, Barbara Howard, chair of the
standing committee, urged Congress to examine the effects current
public policies have on those seeking to turn around their lives for
the better. “The concern was not only to the overwhelmingly negative
effect such policies have had on those wanting to make their lives
better,” Howard said, “but on the millions of dollars the failure to
allow appropriate treatment is costing the American people.” Also
testifying on behalf of the ABA were Michael J. Sweeney, a member of
the ABA Standing Committee on Substance Abuse, and Eric E. Sterling
liaison to the committee from the Section of Individual Rights and
Responsibilities.
 |
Barbara Howard, Michael J. Sweeny and
Eric E. Sterling |
Rep.
Jim Ramstad, co-chair of the caucus, praised the standing committee’s
efforts, saying that he was proud to be an ABA member.
The
ABA has two policies against substance abuse-based discrimination,
which the standing committee is seeking to develop into legislation and
administrative regulation. The policies offer specific recommendations
in the areas of education, public financial assistance, housing and the
discriminatory aspects of the Uniform Accident and Sickness Policy
Provision Laws. Except for these specific policies,
recommendations of the project have not been presented to the ABA House
of Delegates for adoption, and so do not represent policy of the
association.
To learn more about the work of the ABA’s Standing Committee on Substance Abuse, visit http://www.abanet.org/subabuse/home.html.
Back to top
|
