Trump's opioid declaration doesn't include a request for more funding

[DonViejo]

Trump declares opioid crisis a “public health emergency” — doesn’t request more funding

CHARLIE MAY
10.26.2017•5:23 PM

President Donald Trump declared the opioid crisis to be a "nationwide public health emergency" on Thursday afternoon, but as with much of the president's rhetoric, it rung hollow for many.

Link to tweet

For weeks, the Trump administration has said it would declare the opioid crisis to be a national emergency. But a public health emergency differs in that it has to be renewed every 90 days and "is narrower than what his own opioid commission had recommended," which doesn't provide new funds for suffering communities, Politico reported.

The opioid epidemic is now claiming 50,000 lives annually in America, which is 10,000 more lives than the HIV/AIDS epidemic at its height. Drug overdoses, primarily because of the substantial increase in opioid-related overdoses, are now the number one cause of death for Americans under 50 years old.

"Everything that was mentioned today sounds helpful, but mentioning a few helpful items is not a plan," Andrew Kolodny, MD, co-director of the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative at Brandeis University's Heller School for Social Policy and Management, told TIME magazine.

more
https://www.salon.com/2017/10/26/trumps-opioid-declaration-doesnt-include-a-request-for-more-funding/

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. In other words, today's event was a photo op.

[Eliot Rosewater]

2. He doesnt care about opiods, he cares about press conferences where he can answer zero

questions.

Photo ops, etc.

[argyl]

3. Yeah, I noticed. Lots of bluster, no funding.