The Washington State Attorney
General’s Office, Washington State Patrol and the Washington Association of
Prosecuting Attorneys have issued a 29-page report with seven recommended goals
to reduce illegal opioid use.
The seventh and final goal is to expand
access to treatment. It recommends support and expanded statewide and local
non-traditional law enforcement approaches, such as drug courts, Law
Enforcement Assisted Diversion, and embedded social workers.
This goal looks at opioid addiction more as a disease than
just a criminal justice problem. As a disease opioid addiction needs treatment.
The report points out that there is a shortage of treatment services in
Washington State for people entering and leaving the criminal justice system.
It also says that there is a shortage in “aftercare” services such as
connecting people in recovery to housing and employment.
It points to a 2016 U.S. Surgeon General report that
“…nationally just ten percent of Americans facing drug addiction obtain
treatment, in part due to limited availability and affordability of services.”
The report encourages continuation of drug courts to use
treatment as an alternative to sentencing and supervision when possible. The principle
of drug courts "is that treating participants' underlying substance abuse
disorder can lower recidivism." Snohomish County has a Family Drug Treatment
Court, an Adult Drug Treatment Court and a Juvenile Offender Drug Treatment
Court.
Local law enforcement agencies can also help guide opioid addicts
toward treatment. In King County the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD)
program diverts people arrested for low-level, non-violent offenses, such as
drug possession, minor property crimes, prostitution, etc., into drug treatment
and support services instead of into the court system. In Snohomish County, the
both the city of Everett and the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office embeds
social workers with police officers in its Everett Police Community Outreach
and Enforcement Team and the Sheriff’s Office’s Office of Neighborhood’s
Homeless Outreach team who find treatment for willing and qualifying homeless.
For the complete report, go to,
Washington State Attorney General’s Office:
The first goal is to increase
public awareness about the dangers of opioids (http://ssnoccrimewatch.blogspot.com/2017/11/opioid-crisis-washington-states-response.html).
The second goal is to prevent
addiction by curtailing overprescribing (http://ssnoccrimewatch.blogspot.com/2017/11/opioid-crisis-washington-states.html).
The third goal is to reduce the
illicit use of prescription opioids http://ssnoccrimewatch.blogspot.com/2017/11/opioid-crisis-washington-states_30.html.
The fourth goal is to disrupt and dismantle organizations responsible for trafficking narcotics http://ssnoccrimewatch.blogspot.com/2017/12/opioid-crisis-washington-states.html
The fifth goal is to prevent further increases in overdose deaths from fentanyl
The sixth goal is to improve overdose reporting and information sharing http://ssnoccrimewatch.blogspot.com/2017/12/opioid-crisis-washington-states_3.html
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