President Unveils Plan to Combat Opioid Drug Addiction

Speaking March 19 from New Hampshire, where the opioid epidemic is reported as acute, President Donald Trump announced a plan to combat the opioid epidemic.

According to TheHill.com, the plan “includes the controversial idea of using the death penalty for some drug traffickers.”

Reducing the demand and overprescription of opioids, cutting the illegal drug supply, and boosting treatment and recovery services are part of the “Safer Prescribing Plan.” The plan, says the article, “includes incentivizing states to move to a national database monitoring opioid prescriptions to help flag people requesting numerous prescriptions.”

The National Institute on Drug Abuse notes, “Every day, more than 115 Americans die after overdosing on opioids. …The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the total ‘economic burden’ of prescription opioid misuse alone in the U.S. is $78.5 billion a year, including the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement.”