New addiction program launched as emergency room visits rise

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Sep. 23, 2020 – “We’ve come a long way in Georgia since I stepped out of the crack house October 12, 1994 in terms of resources,” he said. “We’ve come a long way as far as stigma and public understanding, but we’ve got a long way to go.”

Emory Psychiatrist, Dr. Justine Welsh, said now, it’s more important than ever to have the Alliance during this pandemic.

“I’m seeing an escalation in alcohol use, and cannabis, and opioids, and stimulants like methamphetamine and cocaine,” Welsh listed Overdoses are up, too, experts said. Emergency room visits from overdoses from December of 2019 to April of 2020 were up 17 percent – and that just tracks the first few months of the pandemic.

“And we expect those numbers to continue to go up,” Welsh added.

Welsh said the Addiction Alliance of Georgia aims to fill in the gaps to support as many Georgians as they can.

“Addiction is an illness that doesn’t discriminate and recovery shouldn’t discriminate either,” Moyers agreed.

The Alliance has a goal of increasing clinical services, research and education, and even developing programs for school-aged children to teach them about addiction and decrease the stigma of getting help.

“Not just to people with insurance, not just to people with jobs, but for all people who need help and healing,” Moyers said.