For the first time ever, the United States Surgeon General has issued a report on substance abuse. This is a milestone because it has the potential to be as far-reaching in implications as the same import as the 1964 Surgeon General’s Report on tobacco.
“We can never forget that the faces of substance use disorders are real people,” Surgeon General Vivek Murthy wrote in a letter accompanying the report. “Are we able to live up to that most fundamental obligation we have as human beings: to care for one another?”
Only 10% of people with a substance abuse receive treatment, according to an editorial by Murthy, and the report looks at ways to help the millions who go untreated. Recommended initiatives include expansion of community-based programs, increased investment in training for health workers and policy reforms.
Samaritan Counseling Center understands the tragic toll that addiction is taking on our region and is taking steps to address it, with our upcoming Community Interventions and through our counseling services.