“In April 2016, at the height of the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S. history, Congress effectively stripped the Drug Enforcement Administration of its most potent weapon against large drug companies suspected of spilling prescription narcotics onto the nation’s streets… A handful of members of Congress, allied with the nation’s major drug distributors, prevailed upon the
“When President Trump announced in early August, following a presidential commission’s recommendations, that the opioid crisis was a “national emergency,… he called it “a serious problem the likes of which we have never had.” A month has now passed, and that urgent talk has yet to translate into urgent action. While the president’s aides say
… and they should not be withheld from anybody with acute or chronic pain,” “Then we came out with the fifth vital sign, that every physician was held to the standard that we would do pain scores on everyone. Based on those studies, we couldn’t restrict opioids at all. In fact, physicians from a New
“The drug industry was more than willing to meet the need of increased opioid administration and more than willing to advance its usage….. Adding to this pressure to overprescribe powerful analgesics was the decision by Medicare to adjust payments to hospitals according to their Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) surveys. This naïve
“It has to be both law enforcement and health, we have to do more of everything because of the crisis that we’re in,” said Baum, acting director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy… “We need to draw a distinction between people who are basically engaged in drug use, drug possession, and
“Having recognized the widespread and devastating nature of the opioid crisis, governors are taking action to stem the tide of opioid use disorder and overdose. States are uniquely positioned to do this work, because they play a central role in protecting public health and safety; regulating health care providers; establishing prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs);
“President Donald Trump on Tuesday vowed his administration would beat the opioid epidemic by beefing up law enforcement, strengthening security on the southern border to stop illegal drugs from entering the country. Trump, joined in Bedminster, New Jersey, by Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and other administration officials, emphasized a tough law-and-order approach,