1. The Legislature finds and declares that: substance use disorders are major health problems facing the residents of this State; aspects of these problems extend into many areas under various State departments; placement in, but not of, the State Department of the Treasury is the most appropriate and logical location for focusing a coordinated planning and review effort to ameliorate these problems and for establishing a Governor’s Council Substance Use Disorder as an independent coordinating, planning, research and review body regarding all aspects of substance use disorder; and establishing a Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services within the State Department of Human Services will enhance the effectiveness of the State’s role in formulating comprehensive and integrated public policy and providing effective treatment, prevention and public awareness efforts against substance use disorders.

The Legislature further finds and declares that: as the cooperation and active participation of all communities in the State is necessary to achieve the goal of reducing substance use disorder, there should be established within the Governor’s Council on Substance Use Disorder, an Alliance to Prevent Substance Use Disorder, to unite the communities of this State in a coordinated and comprehensive effort; and that the full resources of this State including counties, municipalities and residents of the State must be mobilized in a persistent and sustained manner in order to achieve a response capable of meaningfully addressing not only the symptoms but the root causes of this pervasive problem.

L. 1989, c. 51, s. 1; amended 2023, c.177, s.70.