A bill on drunken drivers and a pharmaceutical agent to treat alcoholism under consideration in the Wisconsin Legislature is informed by research of La Follette School director Carolyn Heinrich, testified at a hearing on the bill on September 30.
If the bill became law, courts could place second- and third-offense drunken drivers on probation as long as they take naltrexone, which is prescribed to treat alcoholism. “Naltrexone dulls the ‘high’ feeling alcohol produces,” Heinrich says. “Evidence from clinical trials confirms its effectiveness in reducing alcohol abuse, lowering relapse rates and improving treatment outcomes.”
Under current Wisconsin law, individuals convicted of second- or third-offense drunken driving cannot go on probation. The proposed legislation would be an option for the judge, not a requirement, the Racine Journal Times reported.
Heinrich and fellow researcher Carolyn Hill of Georgetown University, a 1996 La Follette alum, have found that state policies affect how alcoholism is treated. “Cost-containment strategies — including co-payments, quantity limits, or prior authorization — may influence treatment decisions and thuslimit the use of naltrexone,” Heinrich wrote in the fall 2008 La Follette Policy Report.
Heinrich briefed newly elected legislators about her naltrexone research at a January 2009 orientation organized by the Wisconsin Joint Legislative Council. She also gave a presentation to lawmakers and their staffs in May 2008 as part of the Evidence-Based Health Policy Project, a partnership of the University of Wisconsin – Madison's La Follette School of Public Affairs and Population Health Institute, and the Wisconsin Legislative Council.
“Wisconsin leads the nation in a number of disturbing trends regarding alcohol use,” Heinrich says. “We are significantly above the national average in adult and high school student alcohol use and per-capita alcohol consumption. We are number one in the nation in binge drinking and in drunken driving.”
On average, states spend about $1 of every $7 on programs related to substance abuse and its consequences, Heinrich adds. “Yet typically, less than 5 percent is spent on prevention, treatment or and research. The rest goes primarily to incarceration, hospital care, child neglect, poverty and other social problems associated with substance abuse.”
Probation for a pill: Lawmakers would treat drunken drivers for alcoholism, August 6, 2009, Journal Times, Racine, Wisconsin
Sobering News: How We Can Reduce Wisconsin's Top-Ranked Drinking Problem, Fall 2008, La Follette Policy Report
— posted September 28, 2009