Prepared by:  Dana Joy

Burkemont Precinct Chair

Burke County, NC

The Opioid Epidemic Reality

Article #5  •  March 21, 2018

“Our Department of Justice is looking very seriously into bringing major litigation against some of these drug companies” President Trump said in a special meeting in New Hampshire on Monday, March 19, where he outlined his plan to stop the opioid epidemic nationwide. “The Department of Justice recently created a task force to coordinate investigations and lawsuits against manufacturers that harm our citizens”. He went on to say “We’re going to cut nationwide opioid prescriptions by one third over the next three years. We will ensure that opioid addiction is not subsidized by the American taxpayer. The best way to beat the drug crisis is to keep people from getting ‘hooked’ on drugs to begin with”.

The president stated he has been extremely supportive of, in his words, the “great commercials” that have aired recently, depicting the seriousness of opioid addiction in hopes they would send a strong message to our children.  He would like to air a barrage of these commercials in a newly launched website he announced today entitled: www.crisisnextdoor.gov, where Americans can share their personal stories about the dangers of opioid addictions. “This epidemic can affect anyone and that’s why we want to educate everyone” he said.

One comment the president made was met with an overwhelming and agreeable applause, when he said: “Ninety percent of the heroin in America comes from our southern borders, where eventually the democrats will agree with us and build the wall to keep the drugs out”. The president blasted the sanctuary cities that shield dangerous criminals and release illegal immigrants, drug dealers, drug traffickers and gang members back into our communities. These sanctuary cities are “safe havens” for these criminals by protecting them. This results in extremely dangerous situations for our law enforcement officers. “Ending sanctuary cities is crucial to stopping the drug addiction crisis”, president Trump said. He alluded to one sanctuary city in Florence, Mass. where 15 gang members were recently arrested adding that Fentanyl is ramped there. The president made clear that we must “get a lot smarter and a lot tougher”. He is calling on congress to block funds to sanctuary cities and to close the deadly loopholes that allow criminals back into our country.

The invited guests included those who shared their sad stories of how beloved family members were lost from deadly overdoses. We also heard from ICE agent Derrick Dunn who was part of a team that just uncovered a large drug smuggling operation. Derrick shared the difficulty of successfully defusing these drug operations by saying: “It’s been an absolute battle for the DEA, FBI, local law enforcement, state police; we all work together and we’re going to get this solved!” The president praised the ICE agents and thanked them for their bravery as he alluded to a few that recently helped lead the team who arrested an extremely dangerous drug trafficker who used opioids in a very violent way to harm his victims.

Included in the president’s plan to stop the drug epidemic in our country, is to shut down illegal marketplaces, preventing drugs that come from China and other countries, from bypassing our borders. He said: “we have to strengthen up our laws”. He believes we need to seek “tougher penalties than we have ever had before.” The perpetual drug traffickers are responsible for killing thousands of our citizens every year and for these criminals, the president, along with the Department of Justice, will be seeking the death penalty. President Trump stated that many foreign leaders have testified to him that they do not have a drug problem in their countries.  When he inquired as to why, he said their answer was always the same; they have “zero tolerance” for drug crimes and they have “the death penalty” put in place for those responsible should any drug crimes occur. “We have to be tough; we have to be smart; we have to change some laws and we are working on that right now” the president said as he emphasized that other countries “don’t play games”. He went on to say: “We have court cases that go on for ten years, and then they get out in the end” referring to the drug traffickers and those responsible for the drug-related crimes. He has the full support of our attorney general, Jeff Sessions. The US A.G. is working “very hard and very effectively on that” and Mr. Trump said he appreciated that very much. On March 21, Jeff Sessions instructed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in drug related cases whenever it is appropriate, all part of the Justice Department boosting up efforts to combat the opioid epidemic abusers.  “In the face of all this death, we cannot continue business as usual” Sessions said.

President Trump expressed his desire to get “life saving help to those who need it”. He went on to say: “we’re going to make sure our first responders have access to life saving overdose reversing drugs”. The president was referring to Narcan, which is administered in the form of a nasal spray, that he calls “actually incredible”.  A company called ADAPT PHARMA is going to provide free Narcan as well as educational awareness, to all high schools, colleges, and universities in America. The president himself has witnessed first-hand, how law enforcement officials administer Narcan and has seen its amazingly quick reversal on the victim. He did, however, express his concerns, that unfortunately, the person may go back to abusing again and again, and in his words, “we have to work on that very strongly”.

He also stressed the need for more treatment for these addicts and is looking to make medically assisted treatment more available and more affordable. He supports compassionate treatment and is committed to finding ways to help the recovered individuals from relapsing. “To further expand treatment, I am also calling for congress to change the restrictive 1970 law, that prevents Medicaid from paying for care at certain treatment facilities with more than sixteen beds”. He went on to say: “In the meantime, my administration is granting waivers to states so they can help people who need treatment now. We are also going to help inmates leaving prison get treatment, so they can have a second chance to become productive, law abiding citizens. Unemployment is way down, and people are starting to hire inmates and the results are incredible.” The president is all for giving the inmate “a second chance” and stated he is receiving positive feedback from their employers. He said he wants “every American to reach their God given potential and we will succeed together as one people, one nation and one great American family, because Americans never give in and we never, ever give up”.

President Trump closed out his meeting by adding “The brave families that are here today remind us that the strength of America is found in the heart of our people. We see America’s heart in the parents who won’t accept addiction as the fate of their children.” He went on to praise the medical workers who provide constant loving care, even calling our law enforcement officers “heroic” acknowledging they “race into unimaginable danger”, and the EMS and firefighters who “act so quickly to save so many lives, and we see this American heart in the men and women who fight everyday to help rescue their fellow citizens from the grips of addiction. These are the courageous souls who remind us that for America there is nothing beyond our reach; nothing at all.” Among the ending promises were commitments from the President to “defeat this crisis, protect our beautiful children and ensure that tomorrow is better, brighter, stronger and greater than ever before” because, he said, that “as long as we have trust in our citizens, pride in our country and faith in our God, we will not fail”.

Dana Joy can be reached at: dana@burkecountyvoice.com  • www.burkecountyvoice.com