SAFE Glen Cove Coalition: Trump to Keep Fighting Opioid Crisis

A recent article in the New York Times discusses President Trump’s pledge to battle the deadly opioid epidemic. Trump spoke at an annual conference of health, law enforcement, elected and other officials who work to combat drug abuse and addiction.

There have been signs of progress, including a drop in the number of prescriptions for opioid painkillers. However, opioid abuse claimed a record of nearly 48,000 American lives in 2017. An estimated two million people are addicted to the drugs, which include both legal prescription pain medications and illegal drugs such as heroin.

While prescription opioids initially accounted for most deaths, the epidemic is now driven by illicit heroin and fentanyl. Those two drugs were implicated in the vast majority of opioid overdoses reported in 2017, according to federal figures.

Trump said the administration has committed $6 billion to combat the crisis, set aside money to prevent youth substance abuse, and increased the distribution of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone. Efforts to curb opioid use are being undertaken by an array of government agencies. Trump said states are now allowed to use Medicaid dollars to pay for residential treatment facilities, expanding access to care. The Department of Veterans Affairs has greatly reduced the number of veterans being treated with opioids.

The wide-ranging opioids legislation that Trump signed last fall outlined many steps to improve care and access to treatment. For example, it allowed nurse practitioners to prescribe addiction treatment medication, boosted incentives for people to get training in addiction medicine and allowed Medicare to cover the use of methadone for opioid addiction.

Trump also discussed law enforcement efforts, including shutting down online criminal drug-selling networks and more aggressive efforts to seize illegal drugs and stop immigrants from entering the country without authorization. Almost 400 miles of wall will be in place along the border with Mexico by the end of 2020 maintaining that it will have a tremendous impact on drugs coming into the United States.

The SAFE Glen Cove Coalition is conducting an opioid prevention awareness campaign entitled, "Keeping Glen Cove SAFE," in order to educate and update the community regarding opioid use and its consequences. To learn more about the SAFE Glen Cove Coalition please follow us on www.facebook.com/safeglencovecoalition or visit SAFE’s website to learn more about the Opioid Epidemic at www.safeglencove.org.