There is perhaps no more repeated pledge in the North Carolina General Assembly than to spend taxpayers’ dollars wisely. Lately, legislators have also been declaring their commitment to addressing the overdose crisis devastating N.C. families.

It’s no surprise then that the latest NCGA budget contains large allocations for addiction treatment. The shock comes in realizing that taxpayer dollars are going to treatment programs that have been proven ineffective and could even increase the death toll.

The overdose epidemic has already claimed a record 3,595 lives in North Carolina this year, more than ever before. In our state, most overdose deaths are caused by opioids. Fortunately, effective, life-saving medications to treat opioid addiction have existed for decades. These medications reduce drug use, crime and overdoses.

Yet the N.C. budget directed tens of millions of dollars to programs that don’t use medications. Some programs, like TROSA in Durham, which received $11 million, denies services to individuals who use the safest and most effective medications for opioid addiction. The federal government has deemed this practice a violation of the American with Disabilities Act.

Programs that don’t offer medications often provide or require rapid detoxification before enrolling in counseling-based services. But research shows that more than 90% of people who go through rapid detox followed by counseling return to opioid use within weeks unless they’re also treated with medications.

What’s worse, research also suggests that rapid detox without follow-up medications likely increases the risk of death.

For this reason, many programs receiving NCGA funding are poised to make the overdose epidemic even worse.

Given how dangerous these programs are, it would be inaccurate to say the NCGA is throwing money down the drain. A better analogy would be that these allocations are throwing a pile of money into a hot oven while the house is already on fire.

The reason many addiction programs reject the most effective medications is because of a lack of understanding. These medications work on the brain’s opioid receptors, so some people wrongly think that using these medicines is akin to substituting one addictive drug for another. Nothing could be further from the truth.

While heroin strongly activates opioid receptors for a short time to create a euphoric experience, medications like buprenorphine provide a low-level, long-acting effect that prevents withdrawal and actually blocks the effects of opioids like heroin.

Some programs are run by faith-based organizations that perceive medications to be incompatible with salvation. But that’s like asking a drowning person to choose between a lifejacket and prayer. There’s no reason you can’t have both.

A study last year found that less than half of people with opioid addiction in North Carolina received medication treatment. There aren’t enough providers offering this treatment, and many who manage to find providers can’t afford the cost of care.

The NCGA could follow the example of other states that have smartly put state dollars to use increasing access to medications. Missouri’s investment in medication treatment got more people with opioid addiction into treatment for longer all the while reducing healthcare costs. The NCGA could also implement cost-free policies like barring private insurance from creating extra administrative barriers to medication treatment.

North Carolinians deserve safe, effective addiction care. This is about more than wasting taxpayer’s money. We are paying for these legislative missteps with our lives.