MAT Act Will Save Lives – Over 107,000 People Died Due Preventable Overdoses in the Past Year

Contact: Johanna Kichton, [email protected], 202.660.0605

WASHINGTON, D.C.–People’s Action released the following statement from Drug Policy, Harm Reduction, and Criminal Justice Campaign Director Ellen Glover after the ​​Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act was passed out of the House as part of H.R. 7666, a larger mental health and substance use bill package:

“A majority of the House voted ‘yes’ for the MAT Act because it’s a no-brainer that treatment saves lives. We applaud the members brave enough to reject criminalization of substance use disorder and instead treat it like the public health issue that it is.

“The People’s Action Overdose Crisis Cohort along with our allies fought tooth and nail over the past two years to get this bill passed, and we aren’t stopping until it’s on President Biden’s desk–and he signs it.”

People’s Action Institute and Data for Progress recently released new research showing 79% of bipartisan voters support expanding use of medication-assisted treatments. 

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People’s Action builds the power of poor and working people in urban, rural, and suburban areas to win change through issue fights and elections. We are a national network of 38 state and local grassroots power-building organizations in 28 states–united in the work of building a bigger “we.”