Tracy Mitrano
PENN YAN – Candidate for Congress Tracy Mitrano (D-Penn Yan) says the federal government isn’t doing enough to address the opioid crisis.
During a conference call with regional media on Tuesday, Mitrano said the government’s current response to addiction has been inadequate.
“Our president has declared an emergency but has not really dedicated the funds necessary. We have a healthcare system that is already inadequate to meet healthcare needs of people in this country and it is clearly not poised to address addiction to the degrees that our society has allowed it to become, both again from an illegal drug trade as well as the so-called legal drug trade,” Mitrano said, eluding to the pharmaceutical companies that she says are also responsible for the addiction problem in the U.S.
Mitrano is facing Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning, NY 23) in November’s General Election. She said his response to addiction has been “callous and cruel.”
“We have a representative whose solutions are to take away a preexisting condition, which would mean that addicted people could not receive treatment. And who also suggests that drug traffickers – a highly ill-defined phrase given the complexity of this issue – be given the death penalty,” Mitrano said.
Mitrano added that if she were elected to represent New York 23rd Congressional District, she would push for a multifaceted approach to dealing with addition, and that includes increasing the number of healthcare and treatment facilities, increased support for law enforcement to go after the source of the drugs, and holding pharmaceutical companies accountable for their role in the growing drug problem.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 115 Americans died from an opioid overdose every day in 2016.
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