Several South Carolina state representatives were in Columbia Tuesday for the year’s first meeting of the House Opioid Prevention Study Committee.
The committee is tasked with finding out what policies are working and not working in the battle against opioids.
The South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse says changes in legislation have made an impact with its clients.
Sara Goldsby, the director of DAODAS, was one of several people to present an update to the committee.
During her presentation, Goldsby highlighted some of the success the agency has seen with the changes in legislation so far.
“We have seen an increase of 200 percent in the last year of the number of patients that we’re supporting financially for opioid treatment. These are uninsured patients who may not have received treatment if it wasn’t for lawmakers and the governor increasing our budget,” says Goldsby.
$11 million was designated to fight against opioids in the state. Since then, DAODAS has also secured a federal grant of $14 million to enhance current programs and create initiatives moving forward.
