The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) was signed into law by
President Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
on July 22, 2016. The bill was introduced by Senator
Sheldon Whitehouse
Sheldon Whitehouse (born October 20, 1955) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Rhode Island since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States Attorney from 1993 to 1998 ...
and Representative
Jim Sensenbrenner
Frank James Sensenbrenner Jr. (; born June 14, 1943) is an Americans, American politician who represented in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 2021 (numbered as the Wisconsin's 9th congressional district, 9th district until ...
as the first major federal addiction act in 40 years.
authorizes over $181 million to respond to the
epidemic of opioid use disorder and is intended to greatly increase both prevention programs and the availability of treatment programs. While this bill authorized prevention and treatment programs, funding for its provisions had to come through Congress's appropriations process.
In May 2017, the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA; pronounced ) is a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is charged with improving the quality and availability of treatment and rehabilitative services ...
(SAMHSA) announced grants totaling $2.6 million for recovery community organizations to build
addiction recovery networks and engage in public education as authorized under CARA.
References
Acts of the 114th United States Congress
Drug policy of the United States
Drug policy reform
Drugs in the United States
Opioids
Prevention in the United States
Substance dependence
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