There is a growing push in Washington to declare a public health emergency to combat the deadly opioid epidemic. If such a declaration can help save lives, and provide additional resources to the states to help battle the opioid crisis, then it would be welcomed.
Last week, the Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis asked President Trump to declare a national public health emergency to combat the opioid epidemic.
The commission concluded that approximately 142 Americans are dying every day as a result of the opioid epidemic.
“Our nation is in a crisis,” the report said. “Our citizens are dying. We must act boldly to stop it.”
The report is “meant to give the president some immediate steps that he can take to try to make sure that we stop the death that is happening across the country,” Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who was appointed by Trump to lead the group, told the Associated Press.
The White House said it will “immediately begin reviewing its recommendations.”
In West Virginia, both U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., are voicing support for the commission’s recommendations.
“When I’m on the ground in my home state of West Virginia and when I hear the stories of those struggling with opioid addiction it’s obvious our country is in crisis,” Manchin said. “Declaring a national emergency will allow the administration and Congress to act with the immediacy that’s needed to end this epidemic.”
“While we have made progress in combating this epidemic, there is still more work to be done,” Capito added. “This report demonstrates the severity of this problem and offers solutions that can help us build on the momentum we have created. I applaud the president for forming the commission and look forward to continuing our work together to end this epidemic.”
Also helpful is last week’s announcement by Attorney General Jeff Sessions that the Justice Department will dispatch 12 federal prosecutors to cities ravaged by addiction who will focus exclusively on investigating health care fraud and opioid scams that are helping to fuel the national epidemic.
The Southern District of West Virginia is among those localities where the prosecutors will be based, Sessions said.
The opioid epidemic is a crisis, and it demands action on all fronts. The federal government, just like our local and state government, must play a role in fighting this battle.
A public health emergency declaration may be necessary if we are to succeed in slowing this deadly tide of prescription drug abuse.