Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin attracted national attention last January when he devoted his entire State of the State address to Vermont's opiate addiction problem.
For the first time, he said, the number of people seeking drug addiction treatment had surpassed those getting help for alcoholism, and many had nowhere to go.
"Right now, we have hundreds of Vermonters who are addicted and are ready to accept help, but who are condemned to waiting because we don't have the capacity to treat the demand," he said.
Shumlin's speech grabbed the attention of everyone, including lawmakers, who more than doubled the state's budget for addiction treatment and kicked the system into high gear.
[For more of this story, written by Steve Zind, go to http://www.npr.org/blogs/healt...d-treatment-programs]
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