Congressman Richard Hudson (NC-08)

Opioids: Hidden Dangers, New Hope

Congressman Richard Hudson on DisposeRx, an effective site-of-use method for drug disposal addressed in his recently passed bipartisan bill, the Securing Opioids and Unused Narcotics with Deliberate (SOUND) Disposal and Packaging Act (H.R. 5687), 342-13~ “I've become aware there's some great ideas out there. There's one product DisposeRx . . . they're based in my district. They've come up with this powder, that you can put in the bottle with the pills, add water, shake it up, and you got a biodegradable gel that you can't cook the drugs out of. That's a product, now a number of our retail chains are distributing for free with opioids. So, that's a great solution. I think the key is it's got to be something that's easy for the consumer to do from their home.” Congressman Richard Hudson, NC-08 Congressman Richard Hudson addresses his colleagues on the House floor: Thank you Mr. Chairman, thank you Mr. Speaker For the time. In 2018, more than two million Americans will suffer from addiction to prescription or illicit opioids. Brian Wilson: Richard Hudson is serving his third term in the United States Congress, representing North Carolina's eighth congressional district. On Capitol Hill, Hudson serves on the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, a position he uses to focus on reforming healthcare. In particular, Congressman Hudson is working to address the opioid crisis, in a comprehensive way. It's something he believes that legislators on both sides of the aisle can agree upon. Congressman Richard Hudson: Opioid addiction continues to take lives every day, more than 100 Americans. Touches every fabric of our society, doesn't matter where you live, how much money you make, what your personal circumstances are. We're all susceptible to this. We all know someone who's been affected. This is something that we all need to be focused on. I'm a member of the Energy and Commerce Health subcommittee. We write the healthcare laws for the country and I'm in a position to do something about it. I've been working for a number of years with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, to try to tackle this epidemic. Brian Wilson: They say that politics is the art of the possible. What has been possible in this arena? Bipartisan Initiatives Address the Opioids Crisis Congressman Richard Hudson: Well, it's been remarkable frankly Brian, how again Republicans and Democrats have come together and made some real significant progress in tackling this issue. It's not one that was created overnight, and it's not one that we can solve overnight. There's no silver bullet. This requires education, parents, teachers and law enforcement and healthcare professionals. This requires prevention. It requires us to stop the flow of these drugs, it requires us to make sure that we don't have as many of these pills floating around in our society, and these parents need to understand the dangers of having opioids in their household, they need to know warning signs to look for. It also has to do with treatment and recovery and how are we helping folks beat the addictions, and get back into society. It's a full gamut of solutions needed, and it's a whole lot of money. Frankly, Congress has stepped up and we've appropriated a billion dollars last Congress. This Congress we appropriated $4 billion in the omnibus earlier this year, and 6.7 billion just this week, in our Department of Defense, Labor, HHS appropriations package. We're working together and we're putting real money towards this problem. Brian Wilson: We hear all the time that, you know, it's so partisan. The things aren't getting accomplished. But actually, if there was a real need Democrats and Republicans still can come together on occasion can't they? Congressman Richard Hudson: Well, we can Brian. I once had a reporter tell me, "Congressman, we don't write stories about airplanes landing." Think about that for a minute. Only the planes crashes make the news.