House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020 Regular Session

For decades, people who use drugs, both prescription and nonprescription, have been faced with heavy, punitive action by law enforcement and policymakers that pay little to no attention to the role of personal rehabilitation in recovery. Today, we face our greatest challenge in combating substance use and we must commit to finding a more compassionate solution than we have turned to in the past. Pennsylvanians enter the criminal justice system for drug dependency every day, but rarely receive the rehabilitative services required to overcome the disease. As a result of our negligence to treat these individuals as our peers rather than criminals, recidivism and overdose rates remain an unsolved issue. Opioid use disorder and physical dependency on drugs is not a crime, and it is time that we as a legislature partner with law enforcement to reform our response to such. This legislation would do just that, allowing any individual wishing to seek treatment for their opioid dependency to visit a participating police department without fear of arrest or prosecution. Our state has made crucial strides in reversing the momentum of the opioid crisis and this is yet another step to be taken to truly shift our focus on healing those who have struggled long enough. Please consider co-sponsoring this effort to provide hope and a new take on life for thousands of Pennsylvanians.
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Introduced as HB1958

Memo Updated: November 22, 2019 11:16 AM