Sen. Van Hollen says GOP backing off on treatment (WMAR)
Right now five dozen addicts call the Tuerk house in West Baltimore their home and on this day, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen stops by to offer hope for the hundreds of people stuck on its waiting list.
Van Hollen and Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen toured the facility and listened to stories of hope from its residents at a time when hope for added treatment dollars is waning in Washington.
"Just yesterday, the U.S. Attorney General, Attorney General Sessions, decided to roll back some of the progress we've made at the federal level under the Obama administration where they were telling prosecutors to deal with substance abuse with more care and not simply locking people up," said Van Hollen.
It is a point not lost upon Baltimore's health commissioner who advocates treating addiction like a disease, not like a moral decision or crime.