What Should We Do About The Opioid Epidemic?

NOW THAT YOU’VE HAD a chance to participate in a forum on this issue, we’d like to know what you’re thinking. Your opinions, along with those of thousands of others who participated in these forums, will be reflected in a summary report that will be available to all citizens, including those who took part in the forums, as well as officeholders, members of the news media, and others in your community.

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* 1. Do you agree or disagree with the statements below?

  Strongly Agree Somewhat Agree Somewhat Disagree Strongly Disagree Not Sure
Like alcoholism, opioid addiction should be treated as a disease, not as a crime.
The justice system should go after people who smuggle, deal, and sell opioids rather than spending time and
resources on users.
We should pass laws that limit the amount of opioid medications doctors can prescribe for patients who
complain about pain.
Addicts who can’t get or hold decent jobs should not be able to collect disability and welfare payments.
If people using opioids are not harming society, we should leave them alone rather than trying to force them
into treatment.
Drug companies should be required to put more of their profits into research on nonaddictive painkillers.

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* 2. Do you favor or oppose each of these actions?

  Strongly Favor Somewhat Favor Somewhat Oppose Strongly Oppose Not Sure
Our top priority should be reducing access to opioids in order to prevent people from using them and becoming addicted, EVEN IF it means we invest less money and effort in treatment.
Sentencing for dealing and distributing opioids should be sharply increased, EVEN IF this means putting further strains on our overcrowded prisons.
All treatment centers should be covered by federal and other health insurance, EVEN IF this will sharply
increase taxes and health insurance costs for everyone.
Nonviolent opioid-use offenders should be released from prison providing they attend community treatment
centers, EVEN IF this puts large numbers of opioid users back out on the streets.
We should require occasional random drug testing for certain groups of people, such as those on public
assistance or students, EVEN IF this unfairly singles them out.
We should make naloxone, an overdose treatment drug, widely and cheaply available without prescription,
EVEN IF this encourages addicts to experiment with ever more dangerous drugs.

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* 3.  Did you talk about aspects of the issue you hadn’t considered before?

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* 4. Were there ideas or proposals that you tended to favor coming into the forum that you now have second thoughts about?

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* 5.  What could citizens, working together, do in their own communities to address this problem?

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* 6. Not including this forum, how many National Issues Forums have you attended?

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* 7. Gender:

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* 8. Age:

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* 9. Race/Ethnicity:

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* 10. Where do you live?

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* 11. What is your zip code?

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* 12. What state do you live in?

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* 14. What issue would you like to see covered in a future forum?

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