The President’s Commission Team, lead by Governor Chris Christie, met on Friday June 16, 2017 to discuss the growing epidemic of Drug Addiction in the US. It is unfortunate that addiction is still incredibly misunderstood in our country and is not given the attention that it deserves. Patrick Kennedy, a member of this team said, “we shouldn’t take mental health and addiction and treat it separately,” which identifies a major obstacle that many face when trying to overcome their addiction. Kennedy understands that, “we do not treat brain illnesses like we do any other set of physical illnesses,” and hopefully this commission will change the way that mental illness and addiction are viewed in the United States.
The team hopes to make evidence-based, long-term addiction treatments available to everybody in need and recognize the connection between mental illness and addiction. Watch this team as they work together to improve our country’s mental health and drug addiction treatments.