Part of my job as Chair is to get candidates for elected office to recognize the enormity of the state s addiction problem and to pledge to do something about it. Repeatedly, in opinion polls, the public rates alcohol and drug abuse as a top societal problem, if not the top problem in society. The Partnership will review all responses and release them to the state and local media.
Addiction is an absolutely non-partisan problem.
It cuts across all sectors and levels of society without regard to gender, race, age, creed, income, or occupation. I have served the people of North Carolina in positions ranging from Assistant District Attorney to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. If we all work together, we can save lives, reduce suffering, and cut the economic cost of addiction and abuse. This is a problem we can address and get results. The Partnership will release your response to the media in early October.