WHO DECIDES WHO GETS HELP? –

Dec. 8, 2021 – A class-wide scheduling of fentanyl-related substances may sound wonky, but you don’t have to be a doctor to know the dangers of this policy.  As a medical professional, I believe in a public health approach to addiction. And as an advocate for racial justice, I fight to ensure everyone is able to receive the treatment they need. As lawmakers debate the best way forward, they could learn a thing or two from the work on the frontlines of the overdose crisis. 

It’s not the rise in fentanyl cases that give me the most concern, but rather the fact that more and more people who need treatment aren’t getting it. The reality is that many Black and Latino communities tell me they fear medicine and the health care system because their health needs are seen as threats and their addiction problems are treated as crimes. 

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