After three years of working with law enforcement, drug experts, and families impacted by drug use, Ohio U.S. Senator Rob Portman's Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act has been signed into law by President Obama.

CARA, designed to pay for education, treatment and recovery programs to prevent drug abuse, passed the Senate by a 92-2 vote following a 407-5 vote in the House.

"This is a historic moment in the fight against addiction", Senator Portman said in a press release. "It's a moment when we came together as a country - Democrats and Republicans alike - behind a common sense idea: finally treating addiction like the disease that it is. And with the epidemic of opiate addiction taking an American's life every 12 minutes, this may be the most urgent issue that we face".

President Obama signed the bill Friday, which authorizes $181 million in new spending.