Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin was among those who testified Wednesday before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on the need for federal action to curb opiate and heroin addiction.
The hearing looked at how to address the surge in heroin and prescription drug abuse. Governor Shumlin told committee members that the FDA, physicians and drug companies must be held accountable for their roles in the addiction crisis. "We simply pass out pain killers like candy and we’re unwilling to have that conversation.”
Shumlin asked committee members to pass legislation that would allow physician assistants and nurse practitioners to prescribe maintenance drugs that stop addiction.
