Thursday, April 8, 2004 TODAY
Behavioral Medicine Center news
BMC director of recovery services meets with governor's staff
To advance the knowledge of the disease of addiction, Donald J. Kurth, MD, director of recovery services, Loma Linda University Behavioral Medicine Center, met with the legislative staff of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Alongside Dr. Kurth, current president of the California Society of Addiction Medicine (CSAM), were other CSAM representatives. The group met for an hour with deputy legislative secretary Jennifer Fitzgerald, in the governor's office in Sacramento. The group discussed addiction treatment in California.
"We began by covering three points, perhaps rudimentary to those of us who work in the field of addiction treatment, but sometimes difficult to understand to those who do not work with this disease on a daily basis," says Dr. Kurth. "First, addiction is a disease. Second, it is a treatable disease. Third, addiction treatment can be successful. Thankfully, the deputy secretary had some experience with addiction public policy in the past so, this time, the educational curve was not too steep."
Dr. Kurth and the group then discussed three separate California bills that are on the horizon for the new Schwarzenegger administration. These bills deal with full addiction treatment (SB 1192), clean needle legalization bill (SB 1159), and omnibus legislation (AB 2136), which will provide medical treatment to chemically dependent persons while incarcerated.
Dr. Kurth says he strongly supports educating the public on addiction treatment.
"If you are not involved in applying your medical knowledge and skills to educating your legislators to help make this world a better place, the time to start is right now," he says.
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