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Addiction counselors are worried about the effect of proposed legislation on sober homes in Pennsylvania and their residents. The Pennsylvania State Senate bill is being described by proponents as an attempt to make sober living homes safer.
The new law would impose enhanced sentences on people committing drug crimes within 1,000 feet of a recovery home.
The bill had a first reading before the full Senate on Tuesday. Senator Wayne Langerholc said the bill is designed to deter drug dealers who might target people in recovery.
But Brady Mexton expressed concern that the bill will impact people seeking treatment. Mexton owns and operates a treatment center and fears the bill could potentially make things worse for the person who’s struggling with addiction.
Mexton notes that he understands wanting to prevent people selling drugs to people in recovery houses. But he worries whether it will help people get more treatment.
Langerholc argues that the law was designed to punish drug dealers rather than patients. He asserted that the charges that would see enhanced sentences are based on the crimes that he saw drug dealers charged with when he was the Cambria County Assistant District Attorney.
He also reiterated the clear distinction between people who are dealing with addiction and people who are trafficking drugs near recovery houses. But Mexton said that it wasn’t common at his facilities.
He say he’d rather see individuals caught with drugs placed in another form of treatment and not go to jail.
Sarah Kawasaki is the head of an outpatient opioid treatment center and chief of addiction medicine at Penn State.
She stated she doesn’t know how the police will determine who’s living in a halfway house and who’s not or who’s dealing and who’s buying. Kawasaki expressed that she doesn’t believe rules intended to make recovery homes safer should be made without consulting with professionals.
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