Tully: Sen. Jim Merritt’s audacious goal to stop heroin

If you don’t think that reaching out to politicians can have an impact, then let me suggest you talk to state Sen. Jim Merritt.

The Indianapolis Republican will tell you an interesting story about a weekend day a couple of years ago when he was taking his dogs for a leisurely walk. He’ll tell you about the woman who saw him, raced out of her house and asked pointedly why Indiana wasn’t doing more to address a heroin addiction crisis that wasn’t getting the attention it deserved.

The woman, Justin Phillips, lost her teenage son three years ago to a heroin overdose and has worked ever since to reduce the odds of more families and more young people suffering the same fate. That day, her words got an influential state senator’s attention. They ultimately led to Merritt emerging as perhaps the state’s leading political voice when it comes to heroin and opioid addiction, and they set him off on a yearslong quest that now includes a goal that might sound audacious, but is admirable in spirit.

“I want to kill heroin within the next five years,” Merritt told me on a recent morning.

Kill heroin? In five years? Is that possible?

Honestly, that’s not the point.

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The point is that a state lawmaker is arguing that Indiana needs to act big, fast and boldly and do a whole lot more to address a scourge that costs us far too many of our neighbors, and that will hurt our state for decades to come. Merritt understands a critical point: The danger isn’t thinking big. The danger is inaction.

“A lot of times in politics people are afraid to put a goal out there because you might not make it and then you’ll subject yourself to a lot of criticism,” he said. “But we need a goal. We need a vision. And I’m not going to apologize for having a big goal. I want to kill heroin within five years.”

A new state report issued this week offers several potential paths for Indiana policymakers to consider, focusing on prevention, treatment and enforcement. It suggests more treatment options, including for those in jail, as well as better screening programs for pregnant women who suffer from addiction. The report is a welcome addition, but it should be noted that this debate has never lacked for ideas. What it has needed is a dedicated push from the Statehouse for resources, and a commitment to focus on this problem as aggressively as any other facing the state.

Merritt has worked in past years to make sure families and emergency crews have better access to overdose-fighting medication. On a broader level, he’s among those seeking to reduce the stigma often tied to addiction. Now, he says, government leaders need to focus on the daunting issue of access to treatment and insurance coverage for treatment programs — two issues of deep concern that I’ve heard repeatedly from parents and individuals fighting addiction.

“I’ve got an agenda, and it will cost money,” Merritt said. “But we have to fight this.”

Pointing to dicey state revenue figures, Statehouse leaders have already sent warning flags to those who will seek money for new programs in the upcoming session. With that in mind, Merritt says advocates must demand a more robust push for federal, philanthropic and community foundation dollars. That’s perhaps not an appealing answer for many who would prefer the state to just write a check, but the reality is that this problem is so big that state money is only one part of the solution.

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“We have to have a comprehensive approach to serve Hoosiers struggling with this disease,” Merritt said. He pointed, for instance, to rural areas particularly underserved by treatment programs, as well as drug prescription policies, an increased number of babies born dependent to opioids, and the tragedy of people statewide who are unable to receive or afford help when they seek it.

“This is almost like a war,” he said. “You have to go at the fight from all different directions. We don’t have a blank check, so we have to use bubble gum, string, tape and glue — it’s going to take us being creative and using everything we have to fight this.”

Most important, at the Statehouse at least, is a commitment to put this issue at the forefront of the upcoming legislative session. It will take a lot of hard conversations and gutsy votes. And, Merritt said, it will take an understanding that shortchanging this issue today will have huge economic and human consequences for decades to come.

So, yes, Sen. Merritt is aiming high. He’s putting an audacious goal out there. And whether he meets that goal, he’s doing the right thing.

“We’ve got to get the momentum going,” he said. “Too many people are suffering.”

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Thank you for reading. Please join me for more conversation at Twitter.com/matthewltully.