Would we ever tell somebody who has had a heart attack that they need to wait three weeks for treatment? 

That’s one of the questions that Dr. Leana Wen, health commissioner for the city of Baltimore, asks as she tries to convince public health officials – and the public in general – to rethink their attitudes about addiction. 

“We know that treating addiction as a crime won’t work,” she said.

In a session with journalists at a National Press Foundation program, Wen described the efforts she has made in Baltimore to get a handle on that city’s drug problem.

To read the entire article, click here.