Post by Logan on Jul 6, 2016 3:58:05 GMT -6
Nicholas Pressley tried to get help for his heroin addiction six times in two years, but Iowa's hospitals and medical professionals are limited in their ability to treat patients swept up in the nation's opioid epidemic, his mother said.
Patricia Pressley of Coralville shared the story of her 31-year-old son, who died from a heroin overdose in 2015, on a conference call Tuesday with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Iowa law enforcement officials. They are pushing Congress to approve the president's request for $1.1 billion to increase treatment for opioid addicts.
Iowa would be eligible for up to $4 million over two years.
Opioid overdose deaths hit record levels in 2014, due in part to a more than 300 percent increase in prescription opioid sales since 1999. Many addicts turn to heroin for a cheaper, more intense high when their tolerance for prescription painkillers increases.
Read more: www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2016/07/05/iowa-could-land-4-million-heroin-treatment/86708888/
Patricia Pressley of Coralville shared the story of her 31-year-old son, who died from a heroin overdose in 2015, on a conference call Tuesday with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Iowa law enforcement officials. They are pushing Congress to approve the president's request for $1.1 billion to increase treatment for opioid addicts.
Iowa would be eligible for up to $4 million over two years.
Opioid overdose deaths hit record levels in 2014, due in part to a more than 300 percent increase in prescription opioid sales since 1999. Many addicts turn to heroin for a cheaper, more intense high when their tolerance for prescription painkillers increases.
Read more: www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2016/07/05/iowa-could-land-4-million-heroin-treatment/86708888/