Hillary Clinton Calls For More Drug Treatment Programs

Hillary Rodham Clinton says treatment for drug and alcohol addiction should be on an equal par as for other medical conditions such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease.

Clinton spoke Thursday at a forum in Boston.

The front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination said when she began her campaign she didn't understand the extent of the problem until she started talking to people on the campaign trail,

Clinton, who has proposed spending $10 billion over 10 years to increase treatment, said those conversations convinced her that the U.S. needs to confront the issue directly.

She also said the overprescribing of prescription painkillers has contributed to the heroin abuse problem.

Opioid-related overdose deaths have spiked in Massachusetts, with an estimated 1,256 in 2014. (Associated Press)