Trump vows to 'win' against opioid epidemic

August 15, 2017  14:42
President Donald Trump promised to win the fight against a U.S. epidemic of opioid drug use.

The Republican president said the United States has no alternative but to stem spreading opioid use, but more than six months into his presidency announced no new policies to combat a public health crisis that kills more than 100 Americans daily.

"I'm confidant that by working with our healthcare and law enforcement experts we will fight this deadly epidemic and the United States will win," Trump told reporters. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said the administration was still working to devise "a comprehensive strategy" to be presented to Trump "in the near future."

A commission created by Trump to study opioid abuse urged him last week to declare a national emergency to address what it called an opioids crisis, framing its death toll in the context of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. An emergency declaration could free up federal resources for the effort.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioids were involved in more than 33,000 U.S. deaths in 2015, the latest year for which data is available, and estimates show the death rate has continued rising.

 

The commission, headed by Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, recommended steps such as waiving a federal rule that restricts the number of people who can get residential addiction treatment under the Medicaid healthcare program for the poor and disabled.

 

 

 

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