Let's Talk About Addiction

New Futures had a terrific 2011.  If you had the chance to attend our Recognition Event in October, you would have seen my presentation of our Year in Review.  If you didn’t have a chance to see it at the event, you can see that presentation here.

We worked hard to partner with you to impact Alcohol and Other Drug Policy in New Hampshire, and we did pretty darn well – we had almost 100% success on the policy bills we cared about (we compromised on the Happy Hour bill, but I still consider that a success!), and despite the cuts to our budget, we collectively could not have put forth a more coordinated, hard fought effort on that front. But, 2011 is old news…we have our work cut out for us in 2012!

At the end of the 2011 Legislative Session, I asked myself and my New Futures’ colleagues, “Why isn’t funding for prevention, treatment and recovery services a priority for New Hampshire policymakers?”  We agreed that neither the general public nor our legislators have a true understanding of the nature of addiction as a disease, the fact that addiction can be effectively prevented and treated, and that failure to prevent and treat substance use disorders costs the State of New Hampshire millions of dollars. 

How will we ever have adequate resources for prevention and treatment services if the public and policymakers don’t believe that addiction is a disease that can be effectively prevented and treated? How will we ever address the critical problem of substance abuse if the public doesn’t understand the devastating effects of untreated substance abuse on our communities? It is clear that we have a lot of work to do on the “public opinion” front.

So, during 2012, I’m going to be talking about addiction – a lot.  Starting here, I will begin an effort to raise awareness about addiction with the goal of impacting policy. Please join me by sharing information on the disease of addiction and the impact of failing to prevent and treat substance use disorders, as well as your ideas about the best way to shape public opinion on our issues.  Let’s talk about addiction.