In all policy decisions, there is always the option to do nothing. Some may argue that doing nothing about the opiate crisis in the beginning is how the country ended up where it is today. So if Utah chose to do nothing further or to do away with the policies that have been passed already, what would the consequences be?

            The pros of doing nothing would be the government would not be responsible to appropriate money for treatment, detox, or naloxone. There is another side to that coin though, by doing nothing, not only will costs rise when uninsured or unclaimed people die or suffer overdose, but incarceration costs will rise significantly as well. The status quo in this country and in this state is already to incarcerate drug offenders. It is fair to assume that if we stopped providing alternative policies to address this issue, we will spend more on the back end on incarceration, indigent funeral costs and unpaid hospital bills.

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