What is the problem?

The administration is proposing to eliminate the Department of Drug & Alcohol Programs and collapse it back into a giant new bureaucracy. The administration advises that this merger will save NO MONEY-NONE. NO MONEY SAVED. 

Why Maintain The Department of Drug & Alcohol Programs?

Since the start, The Department of Drug & Alcohol Programs has led a vigorous, high-visibility, collaborative, cross disciplinary campaign to address PA's drug and alcohol abuse and addiction problem. The Department of Drug & Alcohol Programs is a leadership organization.- a silo-breaker and source of LIFE SAVING, cross-departmental work:

• Established the Overdose Task Force comprised of law enforcement, emergency medicine, coroners, addiction treatment, prevention, county & state government and individuals and families in recovery. 
• Catalyzed the development of opiate prescribing guidelines by the Department of Health. 
• Raised $500,000 to purchase Narcan for our police (over 2,300 lives saved)
• Funded and placed drug take-back boxes in 60 counties. 
• Implemented warm hand-off procedures between counties and hospital emergency rooms to get overdose survivors into treatment. 
• Worked with Medicaid and the Department of Corrections to ensure that people coming out of jail get directly into addiction treatment. 
• Established a DUI Treatment Compliance Oversight Committee with the Department of Transportation, law enforcement, county government, county government, addiction treatment and others to work on enforcement of DUI and addiction treatment laws. 

The Department of Drug & Alcohol Programs is vital in the fight for people's lives. Eliminating DDAP will essentially be a death sentence for those you know & love with an addiction to drugs or alcohol.