President Trump declared on Thursday that the opioid crisis in America is serious enough to be labelled a public health emergency.
According to The Weekly Standard, drug addiction takes the lives of 175 Americans every day. This astonishing number caused the President to speak out.
“We want the next generation of young Americans to know the blessings of a drug-free life,” Trump said. “Each of us has a responsibility to this effort. We have a total responsibility to ourselves, to our family, to our country, including those who are struggling with this addiction.”
Although the President’s declaration is followed by provisions allowing the Health and Human Services Department to divert funding to the opioid crisis, as well as allow the HHS to hire additional experts, the President’s critics pointed out that it does not require Congress to allocate additional funding specifically for the crisis.
In fact, according to Politico, the declaration “disappointed state officials and public health experts.”
Nevertheless, some experts, such as Dr. Corey Waller of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, called the declaration “a big step” in combating opioid addiction.
“I’m happy that we’re seeing follow-through on the commitment to address this as the crisis that it is,” said Waller.
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