Rural Drug Measures

Combating addiction in rural communities. Senior adviser for rural affairs at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Ann Hazlett tells us how the White House is working to combat drug addiction in rural areas. “Our top priority is really to equip local leaders with the tools that they need to build those grassroots solutions that will be effective in their communities. We have built a community assessment tool that helps leaders to understand the scope of the problem at a county level, as well as information about some of the things that might be driving drug addiction at a local level.” She also pointed to a rural resource guide. “And it's a comprehensive picture of the funding streams that are there so a local leader can then go access the funds that might help support what it is that they're trying to do.

And Jim Carroll, director of the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy, points to a CDC study showing that drug overdose deaths in the country dropped for the first time since 1990. “We have a reduction in the total number of fatal overdoses, regardless of the drug being used. With almost 200 Americans dying every day, a 5 percent reduction is more Americans that are saved, it’s more children back home with their parents, more loved ones who can be surrounded. We still have a long way to go.” But progress being made.