End Substance Use Disorder and Partners Send 15,000+ Messages Urging Congress to Pass Overdose Prevention Legislation

This week, End Substance Use Disorder partnered with organizations from across the country to urge Congress to pass the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act (H.R. 1384 / S. 445). This bipartisan legislation will prevent overdoses, increase access to treatment, and reduce stigma.

End Substance Use Disorder organized a week of action with the more than 410 organizations that support the MAT Act. Together, End Substance Use Disorder and its partners have sent more than 15,000 emails, calls, and social media posts to Congress in support of the this life-saving legislation since last summer.

“With overdoses claiming more than 1 million of our loved ones since the overdose crisis began, it is time for Congress to make life-saving treatment easier to access than prescription opioids,” said Erin Schanning, president of End Substance Use Disorder. “Thousands across the country are calling on Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to help end this suffering by passing the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act. Every day these leaders delay, more than 270 Americans lose their lives. The time for leadership to stem the overdose crisis is now.”

The Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act will help build universal access to the lifesaving treatment buprenorphine - a gold standard of care for opioid use disorder that cuts the risk of overdose in half. Despite its effectiveness, fewer than 11% of people in need receive medications for opioid use disorder due to outdated federal laws. The bill will remove these outdated federal restrictions on healthcare providers in treating patients with substance use disorder and expand access to education on best practices for treating substance use disorder. In doing so, it could help tens of thousands stay safe from overdoses every year and help them secure long-term recovery.

Learn more about the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act and the research supporting this common-sense solution here.