Gov. Whitmer’s choice to use people working to overcome an opioid addiction as political pawns in her effort to raise the gas tax is appalling.
October 16, 2019
Gov. Whitmer Calls Opioid Addiction A Crisis Then Vetoes Funding For Treatment
In April 2019, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer attended the groundbreaking for an opioid recovery center in Jackson – calling the problem in Michigan a “crisis.” Whitmer went on to say, “It does not discriminate, it does not abate. We must fight it. Andy’s Place is going to be one of those places that changes lives and improves them for the better.”
Early this fall, Whitmer vetoed $750,000 in state funding for the project, a move that stopped the facility’s planned construction and left many wondering why Gov. Whitmer chose to use people trying to overcome opioid addiction as political pawns in her effort to increase the gas tax by 45-cents.
“Gov. Whitmer’s choice to use people working to overcome an opioid addiction as political pawns in her effort to raise the gas tax is appalling,” said Tori Sachs, executive director of Michigan Rising Action. “Over 2,000 people die a year in Michigan due to drug overdose. Whitmer clearly understands the problem because she called it a crisis. Then she cut funds for opioid recovery because she thought it would be a useful bargaining chip to get a 45-cent gas tax increase. Whitmer’s vindictive political retribution may hinder the recovery of people trying to overcome addiction, and that is plain cruel.”
The video released today by Michigan Rising Action features Gov. Whitmer speaking at the April 2019 groundbreaking for the Andy’s Place Opioid Recovery Center in Jackson. In this video, she calls the opioid problem in Michigan a “crisis.” The video also features footage from several local news stations that covered the event and the importance of an addiction recovery facility in the area.
This is the third Michigan Rising Action video to feature Gov. Whitmer’s recent budget vetoes. The first video featured footage of Whitmer stating we need to fix the roads before she vetoed $375 million for roads. The second video featured Whitmer’s support of the Autism Alliance in early 2019 and then the consequence of her cuts to autism funding in our state.