Warren to call for new federal approach to opioid crisis

BOSTON (AP) — U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is calling for the federal government to treat the opioid addiction crisis in a way similar to how it attacked the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.

The Massachusetts Democrat will be in Boston on Friday to discuss legislation that she and Maryland Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings plan to file in Congress.

The lawmakers plan to model the bill after the Ryan White CARE Act, which targeted federal funds to areas of the country most impacted by the HIV virus.

White, a teenager from Indiana, became a global advocate for AIDS patients after he contracted the disease through a blood transfusion. He died in 1990.

Warren plans to visit an area of Boston that was previously known as the "Methadone Mile," but recently rebranded as "Recovery Road."

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The Gayly. April 6, 2018. 10:46 a.m. CST.