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Whitmer says MI can cut opioid addiction in half

pixabay.com

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has set a goal of cutting in half the number of opioid-overdose deaths in Michigan.

Governor Whitmer visited a clinic that provides addiction treatment services to make the announcement. She says the state’s made efforts to reverse the trend, but Michigan suffered two thousand known overdose deaths in 2017, an increase over the previous year.

       The governor says that shows the state needs to get more aggressive.

       “It’s an ambitious goal, 50 percent, but it’s absolutely do-able.”

      

       Whitmer says the plan includes allowing people on Medicaid access to anti-opioid drugs without requiring prior approval, and getting inmates in state prisons access to the same drugs and treatment programs to make relapses less likely.