Kudos to House Ways & Means Chairman Charles Murphy and the House Ways & Means Committee for proposing a separate Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Fund to dedicate proceeds from the alcohol sales tax to vital public health programs. It costs the state nothing, safeguards spending for alcohol and substance abuse treatment services, and defuses critics who say the state will spend the money elsewhere.
Nationally, only 10 percent of individuals in need of addiction services actually are in treatment. The alcohol sales tax addresses some of that gap by creating a funding source for new problems.
For the thousands of people in Massachusetts whose families have been affected by addiction, the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Fund is smart public policy and sound health policy.
On the Issues, People & Organizations in Behavioral Health in the Commonwealth
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