Reaction to opioid crisis offers my greatest contrast to Rep. Howard

To The Daily Sun,

When I read Rep. Norman Silber’s October 10 letter to The Laconia Daily Sun attacking me, I knew my campaign had reached a high point. But if I thought that was good, imagine my delight to see in the October 17 Laconia Daily Sun another attack letter, this time from Dick Burchell of Gilmanton! This new attempt to distract the voters of Alton, Barnstead, and Gilmanton of the very different policy differences between my opponent (Rep. Raymond Howard, Jr.) and me will not succeed.

There may be no area of greater difference between Rep. Howard and me than the opioid crisis. I have consistently advocated for more and better treatment options, and have urged our county delegation to fully fund CORE, the county jail programs aimed at treating substance abuse and mental health problems and at reducing recidivism. The Belknap County CORE program, which is an integral part of the new corrections center that opened in 2017, is based on a very successful program from Sullivan County. Most of our county residents are aware of the opioid epidemic and want it to be addressed by our legislators.

In a non-partisan Citizens Count survey sent to N.H. candidates and completed by Rep. Howard, in response to the question “Should N.H. increase funding for heroin treatment programs?” he stated, “I oppose all funding for drug treatment programs.” In answering another question relating to increased penalties for heroin-related offenses, Rep. Howard stated: “If they want to kill themself (sic) I say go ahead, you can’t fix stupid so way waste taxpayer money”. (This is exactly how it appears in the survey).

Mr. Howard’s voting record both in Concord and at the county level has been consistent with these expressed views, so although I completely disagree with his views, I applaud his honesty.

In early 2016, a bipartisan task force was created in Concord to study the drug problem and propose legislation at no cost to the taxpayers; although it passed 290 to 46, Rep. Howard voted no. As a result of the task force study, three significant bills emerged. Senate Bill 576, the first, had bipartisan sponsorship (including from all three of Belknap County’s senators) added fentanyl to the N.H. Controlled Drug Act, it clarified that substance abuse disorder was covered under the Medicaid managed-care program, and it created a drug crisis hotline. SB-576 passed the House 276 to 69, with Rep. Howard again voting no.

Next came House Bill 1000, which created and funded a grant system for local and state criminal justice agencies to fund efforts to address the drug crisis. Although it passed 235 to 74, Rep. Howard voted no. Then Senate Bill 533 passed the House 235 to 109, again despite a no vote from Rep. Howard. SB-533 appropriated money for several different types of programs relating to substance abuse, all programs proven successful elsewhere. It should be noted that in all four of these instances, Rep. Howard was outside the mainstream.

At the county level, Rep. Howard has consistently voted against full-funding the CORE program. The $8 million cost of constructing the new jail was much lower than the previous proposal, which had a price tag of $42 million. The primary reason for the lower cost was that the new facility would be low security, with emphasis on intensive programs to help inmates turn into constructive citizens. The programs were specifically directed to substance abuse and mental health issues. Evidence from Sullivan County, where a similar program has been in place for years, showed that the programs were working and that recidivism had dropped greatly. When the local delegation approved the cost of the new jail, they did so knowing that implementation of CORE would require additional staff and programming, at a cost of $650K a year. And yet, when it came time to vote on the budget incorporating these additional costs, Rep. Howard voted no. And he has consistently voted no on all of these programs since that time. It appears that saving the county $34 million (the lower jail cost) was fine, but staffing the new facility was not.

Rep. Howard has openly expressed his philosophy concerning drug treatment. Following one county delegation meeting, a recovering addict approached him to ask why he was unwilling to support those who are trying to turn their lives around. I heard him respond as follows: “At least I’m not stupid enough to put a needle in my arm.”

My philosophy on the opioid crisis is very different. It is my view that our communities are being ravaged by drugs, and getting addicts off drugs and into constructive behavior benefits us all. The drug crisis puts a huge strain on law enforcement resources, and medical resources, and destroys families. Any program that leads to a reduction in these problem behaviors would have my support, and the first of the programs in that category would be the CORE program at our county corrections center.

Although in all my recent letters I have been highlighting differences between Rep. Howard’s views and mine, no policy area offers a starker contrast than our approaches to the opioid crisis.

Ruth Larson

Alton