At the National Black Caucus of State Legislators Conference in Indianapolis,  U.S. Surgeon General and former Indiana Health Commissioner Jerome Adam called for racial equity in addressing the opioid epidemic.

Adams spoke Friday to an audience that included members of state legislatures across the country, an event that kicked off with a performance of elementary school children singing "Lift Every Voice" 鈥� considered by many the Black national anthem. 

Adams said race and class play a role in how communities respond to the opioid epidemic.

鈥淗ere鈥檚 the challenge for all of you in this room. We need to make sure when policies are implemented to address the opioid epidemic, they鈥檙e implemented in an equitable way,鈥� he said.

He gave the example of diversion programs, such as drug treatment courts, that give some defendants the choice of jail or treatment. He said too often, these programs make decisions about who gets in based on someone鈥檚 chance of succeeding at recovery.

For example, those with family support systems and resources such as housing are sometimes favored for treatment.

鈥淭he affluent and the non-minorities are going to be the ones that have the best chance of being successful and the minorities and the less affluent are not,鈥� he said.

Adams challenged the audience to support programs that use their resources equitably to give everyone suffering from addiction a chance at recovery.

鈥淏ecause [we鈥檝e got a] 267 percent increase in heroin overdoses in whites, but what we aren鈥檛 talking about is we鈥檝e got over a ,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o this epidemic is really affecting everyone and the solutions have to affect everyone also.鈥�

A trained anesthesiologist, Adams was appointed Indiana鈥檚 health commissioner by then-Gov. Mike Pence in October 2014. Four months into the job, he announced an HIV outbreak in rural Scott County, Indiana, spread almost entirely through injection drug use.

Adams played a key role in the state鈥檚 response, and health workers credit Adams with persuading Pence to legalize syringe exchanges to contain the spread of the disease.

Since he was appointed U.S. Surgeon General, Adams acknowledged he鈥檚 been criticized for working with President Trump.

鈥淲hat I would say to everyone in this audience is if you don鈥檛 agree with what鈥檚 going on, how are you going to change it if you鈥檙e not in the room?鈥�

He said he applauds the president for declaring the opioid epidemic a public health emergency and pushing federal agencies to find additional funds to address the crisis.

This story was produced by , a news collaborative covering public health.

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