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CANDIDATE
SURVEY RESPONSE |
Gordon M. Johnson (Democrat)
387 Morlay Ave.
Englewood, NJ 07631
2005 NEW JERSEY LEGISLATIVE ADDICTION PREVENTION AND TREATMENT SURVEY
I. General Views of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Policies
to Address This Issue
Studies have found that the stigmatization
of alcohol and drug addiction persists and that the public acceptance
of the “disease model” of addiction, though seemingly
broad, is at the same time quite shallow.
Indicate which principles you would agree with
(if any) regarding your general views of alcohol and drug addiction
and policies to address this issue.
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a) Alcohol and drug addiction are preventable,
treatable, chronic diseases and are as consistently diagnosable
as other illnesses such as diabetes, asthma and hypertension. |
| X |
b) Alcohol and drug addiction treatment are very effective
and work as well as other established medical treatments for
illnesses such as diabetes, asthma and hypertension. |
| X |
c) On the issue of drug use, the nation and state should more
heavily emphasize strategies of interdiction and prosecution,
which aim to control the problem by reducing the available supply
of drugs. |
| X |
d) The state should more heavily emphasize strategies that
favor a public health approach to alcohol and drug addiction
and target demand reduction activities, such as prevention and
treatment. |
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e) The state legislature should act in the following way when
legislating on the legality of medicinal marijuana: |
| X |
Medicinal marijuana should be legal after a Food and Drug
Administration’s approval ensuring it is safe and effective. |
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Medicinal marijuana should be legal without a Food and Drug
Administration’s approval. |
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Medicinal marijuana should not be legalized at all. |
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f) The state should legalize all illicit drugs. |
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g) Other
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II. Preventing and Reducing Youth Alcohol
and Drug Use
According to the 2003 New Jersey Middle
School Substance Use Survey – conducted by the state Department
of Health and Senior Services, Division of Addiction Services –
New Jersey’s youth continue to use alcohol, marijuana, and other
illicit drugs at rates that should alarm all concerned citizens
in the Garden State. According to the survey, alcohol was the most
frequently used substance by New Jersey middle school students,
with nearly 46.4 percent of them reporting that they had used alcohol
in their lifetime and 13.8 percent reporting that they had used
alcohol in the past 30 days. The survey also showed that 6.2 percent
of 7th and 8th graders reported marijuana use in their lifetime
and 2.4 percent used it in the past 30 days.
Indicate which principles you support (if any)
concerning the prevention and reduction of youth alcohol and drug
use by placing a check mark next o the statment(s) which correspond
with your views.
| X |
a) Increase alcohol excise taxes in order to fund
education campaigns aimed at reducing youth use of alcohol. |
| X |
b) Dedicate more of the currently collected alcohol excise
tax to fund education campaigns aimed at reducing youth use
of alcohol. |
| X |
c) “Zero tolerance” policies for alcohol and drug
use by students on school grounds. |
| X |
d) Enact state-wide keg registration requiring retailers to
place an identifying tag on each beer keg sold at retail and
collect information on the purchaser’s identity. |
| X |
e) Develop and implement a counter-marketing campaign that
parallels current national anti-drug media campaigns that seeks
to combat illicit drug use. |
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f) Law enforcement should have the right to enter onto private
property if they have probable cause of the illegal use of alcohol.
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g) To expand the current mandatory six month license suspension
penalties for underage drinking in a vehicle to include alcohol
consumed by underage persons in a private or public place. |
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h) Other |
III. Public Capacity for Alcohol and
Drug Addiction Treatment
A New Jersey state department Substance Abuse Prevention
and Treatment Advisory Task Force found that about one-half (71,000)
of those adults and two-thirds (9,400) of adolescents who demanded
treatment for alcohol and drug addiction could not access it through
the state’s treatment system due to limited capacity. As a result,
the state has experienced a decline of 15,000 in treatment admissions
over the last ten years. Since 1992 the amount of alcohol excise
tax revenue allocated to the Alcohol Education Rehabilitation and
Enforcement Fund, which is a dedicated fund established to disburse
treatment dollars to counties, has remained at 11 million dollars
per year. The result is counties are receiving an insufficient amount
of funding from the AEREF to meet their addiction treatment needs.
Indicate which principles you support (if any)
concerning expanding public capacity for alcohol and drug addiction
treatment by placing a check mark next to the statement(s) which
correspond with your views.
| X |
a) Enact treatment on demand initiatives that
aim to offer all those seeking publicly funded substance abuse
treatment immediate entry into a program.
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| X |
b) Dedicate more of the currently collected alcohol excise
tax to the Alcohol Education, Rehabilitation and Enforcement
Fund to fund addiction treatment. |
| X |
c) Increase alcoholic excise taxes and use the additional
revenue to fund addiction treatment. |
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d) Appropriate additional state general revenue to expand
treatment capacity. |
| X |
e) Dedicate drug forfeiture funds to expand treatment capacity. |
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f) Other |
IV. Private Health Insurance for Alcohol
and Drug Addiction Treatment
The New Jersey Substance Abuse Prevention
and Treatment Advisory Task Force found that the implementation
of managed care has made access to treatment more difficult for
privately insured persons with an addiction problem, as well as
for privately insured families trying to secure access for family
members. The Task Force also found that these experiences have led
many privately insured persons and family members to seek access
to publicly-funded services as an alternative.
Indicate which principles you support (if any)
concerning expanding private health coverage for alcohol and drug
addiction treatment by placing a check mark next to the letter(s)
which correspond with your views.
| X |
a) Provide parity for alcohol and drug addiction
treatment in an insurance contract. The contract must include
both inpatient and outpatient treatment at the same level as
for other medical services. |
| X |
b) Establish an addiction treatment services ombudsman to
assist consumers of addiction treatment services in navigating
the private health plan appeals process. |
| X |
c) Require health insurance providers to utilize a neutral
assessment instrument such as American Society of Addiction
Medicine – Patient Placement Criteria (ASAM – PPC)
or Addiction Severity Index (ASI) for addiction treatment determinations.
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| X |
d) Other: I co-prime sponsored A333 with Assemblywoman Loretta
Weinberg and was proud to do so. |
V. Criminal Justice and Treating the
Addicted Offender
The New Jersey Department of Corrections reports
that roughly 63 percent of the inmates, 29 percent men and 34 percent
women, in New Jersey were incarcerated as a result of a drug-related
offense. In addition, 60 to 80 percent of the current inmate population
is dependent on drugs or alcohol. The New Jersey Department of Corrections
further reports that approximately 41 percent of offenders housed
in youth complexes were incarcerated for drug offenses.
Indicate which principles you support (if any)
concerning the criminal justice system and the treatment of the
addicted offender by placing a check mark next to the letter(s)
which correspond with your views.
| X |
a) Support mandatory-minimum sentences for drug
offenses. |
| X |
b) State support for municipally-based drug courts to intervene
earlier in an offender’s criminal behavior and drug use. |
| X |
c) Allow first- and second-time, non-violent, simple drug
possession offenders the opportunity to receive substance abuse
treatment instead of incarceration. |
| X |
d) Establish treatment of criminal offenders as a key part
of the entire criminal justice system that encompasses incarceration,
probation and parole. |
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e) Other |
VI. Other
On an attached page,
in a total of seventy-five (75) words or less, please explain any
other legislative priorities you will have in relationship to the
prevention and treatment of alcohol and drug addiction if elected.
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