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Opioid Litigation Media Update - 3/1/18

Trump Opioid Summit Remarks

Remarks by President Trump at the White House Opioids Summit
Mar 1, 2018 | White House
By Donald J. Trump

THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much, Kellyanne. And it’s an honor to be with you. I just said I was going to stop over, say hello to some of the great families and some friends — some friends that have had some incredible difficulty. I know what you’re going through.

Opioid Summit Coverage

Trump Says He Has Spoken With Sessions About Suing Opioid Companies (UPDATE-1)
Mar 1, 2018 | Reuters
By Staff

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he had spoken with U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions about bringing a lawsuit against companies involved in the opioid business.
Trump says drug dealers may deserve 'ultimate penalty'
Mar 1, 2018 | Associated Press
By Darlene Superville

President Donald Trump said Thursday the "ultimate penalty" may be in order for drug dealers because the nation's drug problem will never be solved without a show of strength and toughness.
Trump advocates ‘the ultimate penalty’ for drug dealers during opioid summit
Mar 1, 2018 | CNN
By Staff

President Donald Trump seemed to advocate the death penalty for drug dealers on Thursday during brief comments at an opioid summit at the White House.
Trump brings up death penalty for drug dealers, suing drug companies at opioids summit
Mar 1, 2018 | CBS News
By Staff

President Trump made an unexpected appearance at a White House summit on the opioid crisis Thursday afternoon, floating penalties for "opioid companies" and tougher punishments for drug dealers, noting that some countries have the "ultimate penalty."
Trump suggests death penalty to stop opioid epidemic
Mar 1, 2018 | Politico
By Sarah Karlin Smith

President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested using the death penalty on drug dealers to address the opioid epidemic, equating providing lethal drugs with murder.
Trump suggests death penalty for drug dealers during White House meeting on opioids
Mar 1, 2018 | USA Today
By David Jackson

President Trump broached the idea of instituting the death penalty for drug dealers on Thursday, but stopped short of formally proposing it.
Trump Says Administration Working On 'Very Very Strong' Policies To Combat Opioids
Mar 1, 2018 | NPR
By Brian Naylor

The White House convened a summit on the opioid epidemic Thursday, where first lady Melania Trump said she is proud of the what the administration has already accomplished on the issue, but that "we all know there is much work still to be done."
Trump says federal government lawsuit against drug companies over opioid crisis 'will happen'
Mar 1, 2018 | CNBC
By Dan Mangan

President Donald Trump said Thursday that the federal government will follow the example set by states and cities and begin suing drug companies and distributors for their role in the opioid epidemic.
Trump praises countries with death penalty for drug dealers at opioids summit
Mar 1, 2018 | NBC News
By Ali Vitali

President Donald Trump on Thursday praised countries that impose "the ultimate penalty" on drug traffickers, suggesting that harsher punishments for "drug pushers and drug dealers" would help combat America's opioid crisis.
Trump backs DEATH for drug dealers at opioid summit saying other countries which execute them have 'much less of a problem'
Mar 1, 2018 | Daily Mail
By Franceska Chambers &^ David Martosko & AP

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he's spoken with Attorney General Jeff Sessions about suing the makers of opioid drugs, just days after the Justice Department announced it would help a long list of county and municipal governments do just that.
At opioid summit, Trump suggests dealers should get the death penalty
Mar 1, 2018 | ABC News
By Alexander Mallin

President Donald Trump made a surprise stop by the White House's summit on opioids today, where he suggested dealers face "the ultimate penalty" for their roles in drug-related deaths.
Trump calls for 'very strong' penalties for drug dealers
Mar 1, 2018 | The Hill
By Peter Sullivan

President Trump on Thursday called for being "very strong on penalties" for drug dealers while speaking at a White House opioid summit.
Trump Seemingly Proposes Executing Drug Dealers: Some Countries Have the ‘Ultimate Penalty’
Mar 1, 2018 | Mediaite
By Justin Baragona

Last week, it was reported that President Donald Trump wanted the United States to copy the policies of other countries and sentence convicted drug dealers to the death penalty. During a surprise appearance at an opioid summit held at the White House this afternoon, he seemed to confirm that reported stance as he noted other countries are “very tough” on drugs and the US needed to follow suit.
Trump, at Opioid Summit, suggests ‘ultimate penalty’ for drug dealers
Mar 1, 2018 | Agripulse
By Daniel Enoch

President Trump today suggested the “ultimate penalty” for drug dealers may be part of the solution to the opioid crisis and called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to bring lawsuits against manufacturers of the powerful and addictive painkillers.
Trump Suggests Executing Drug Dealers to Solve Opioid Crisis
Mar 1, 2018 | New York Magazine
By Adam K. Raymond

President Trump on Thursday came closer than ever to publicly endorsing the death penalty for drug dealers, a policy he has reportedly advocated for in private.
Former Fox News Host Eric Bolling Speaks at White House Opioid Summit
| Hollywood Reporter
By Staff

Former Fox News anchor Eric Bolling, who has advocated for combating the opioid addiction epidemic in the U.S. since the untimely death of his son last fall, spoke Thursday at a summit on the issue held at the White House.
White House Plans to Sue Opioid Makers
Mar 1, 2018 | Medpage Today
By Shannon Firth

To stop the opioid crisis, President Trump said on Thursday, the country needs to be tougher on drug dealers and on drug manufacturers.
White House Gives Status Update On Opioid Emergency
Mar 1, 2018 | New England Public Radio
By Tamara Keith

The White House convened a summit on the opioid epidemic Thursday, with first lady Melania Trump saying she is proud of the what the administration has already accomplished on the issue, but that "we all know there is much work still to be done."

Broadcast Media Coverage

MSNBC Live With Craig Melvin
Mar 1, 2018 | National Programming
By MSNBC (MSNBC)

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33165852?token=a6619025-4696-477e-b13e-569b4278c419
MTP Daily
Mar 1, 2018 | National Programming
By MSNBC (MSNBC)

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33165854?token=a6619025-4696-477e-b13e-569b4278c419
Michaela
Mar 1, 2018 | National Programming
By CNN

Video Link:http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33165856?token=a6619025-4696-477e-b13e-569b4278c419
NBC 5 News at 5pm
Mar 1, 2018 | Dallas, TX
By KXAS (NBC)

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33165861?token=a6619025-4696-477e-b13e-569b4278c419
News 12 Long Island
Mar 1, 2018 | New York, NY
By N12LI (News 12)

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33165857?token=a6619025-4696-477e-b13e-569b4278c419
NBC 10 Boston News at 5:00pm
Mar 1, 2018 | Boston, MA
By WBTSLD (NBC)

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33165863?token=a6619025-4696-477e-b13e-569b4278c419
Fox 5 News at 5
Mar 1, 2018 | New York, NY
By WNYW (Fox)

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33165864?token=a6619025-4696-477e-b13e-569b4278c419
CBS 2 News at 5PM
Mar 1, 2018 | New York, NY
By WCBS (CBS)

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33165865?token=a6619025-4696-477e-b13e-569b4278c419
News 4 NY at 4:30
Mar 1, 2018 | New York, NY
By WNBC (NBC)

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33165866?token=a6619025-4696-477e-b13e-569b4278c419

Trump Opioid Summit Remarks

Remarks by President Trump at the White House Opioids Summit

Mar 1, 2018 | White House

By Donald J. Trump

THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much, Kellyanne. And it’s an honor to be with you. I just said I was going to stop over, say hello to some of the great families and some friends — some friends that have had some incredible difficulty. I know what you’re going through.
Melania is here someplace. Where is our First Lady? Where is she? Where’s Melania? Hello, darling. So she feels so strongly about it. Kellyanne feels so strongly about it. And I do.
And a friend of mine, Steve Witkoff, who is a great developer in New York City — stand up, Steve. I didn’t know you were going to be here. Steve had some big difficulty. He went through — Steve, come on up here. Steve has been one of my great friends over the years. A tremendously successful man. And would you want to just discuss this? Because we’re all among friends here. You know, it’s a tough thing to discuss, right?
MR. WITKOFF: It is. It is.
THE PRESIDENT: But I was there when he was going through something with a very special boy, right? Go ahead.
MR. WITKOFF: I remember the hug you gave me when the world was — when I felt all was lost. I listened to Eric’s story. I lost my son in 2011. And he didn’t buy drugs on the Darknet; he bought drugs on the Internet — a website owned by three of the largest U.S. corporations in the country today. So it’s not just the Darknet.
But he was a great kid, and he detoxed the first night with me. So he was my special child. So if I lost him — I always felt hopeless before you were elected. And I’ve never lobbied my friend about anything. I’ve just supported you because I so believe in you. But if my son knew that you were going to take up this battle — oh, my gosh, he must be upstairs applauding every single day. So I am so grateful. Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Steve. You take care of yourself. Thank you. (Applause.)
And Steve went through something where he thought everything was perfect. He thought everything was fine. And his boy was recovered. And then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, he got some very bad news. So I fully understand what you’re going through.
The administration is going to be rolling out policy over the next three weeks, and it will be very, very strong. I’ve also spoken with Jeff about bringing a lawsuit against some of these opioid companies. I mean, what they’re doing and the way — the distribution. And you have people that go to the hospital with a broken arm, and they come out and they’re addicted. They’re addicted to painkillers, and they don’t even know what happened. They go in for something minor, and they come out and they’re in serious shape.
So we’re going to very much — you know, as you know, I think we’ve been involved more than any administration, by far. It’s a problem that’s growing. And drugs are a similar but different problem, in the sense that we have pushers and we have drug dealers that don’t — I mean, they kill hundreds and hundreds of people, and most of them don’t even go to jail. You know, if you shoot one person, they give you life, they give you the death penalty. These people can kill 2,000, 3,000 people and nothing happens to them.
And we need strength with respect to the pushers and to the drug dealers. And if we don’t do that, you’re never going to solve the problem. If you want to be weak and you want to talk about just Blue Ribbon Committees, that’s not the answer. The answer is you have to have strength and you have to have toughness. The drug dealers, the drug pushers are — they’re really doing damage. They’re really doing damage.
Some countries have a very, very tough penalty — the ultimate penalty. And, by the way, they have much less of a drug problem than we do. So we’re going to have to be very strong on penalties. Hopefully, we can do some litigation against the opioid companies. I think it’s very important because a lot of states are doing it, but I keep saying, if the states are doing it, why isn’t the federal government doing it? (Applause.) So that will happen. So that will happen.
In the meantime, I just want to pay my respects to everybody. Some of you have gone through a lot. Many of you in this room have gone through a lot, more than anyone can imagine. We’re with you a hundred percent. We’re fighting for you, and we’re going to win. We’re going to win. Thank you very much. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. (Applause.)

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Opioid Summit Coverage

Trump Says He Has Spoken With Sessions About Suing Opioid Companies (UPDATE-1)

Mar 1, 2018 | Reuters

By Staff

Trump said that he had urged Attorney General Jeff Sessions to take legal action.
"Hopefully we can do some litigation against the opioid companies," Trump said at a summit hosted by the White House on the nation's opioid crisis.
Hundreds of states, counties and cities have sued drugmakers and distributors, saying that manufacturers have deceptively marketed opioids and distributors have failed to take action against indications the painkillers were diverted for improper uses.
On Tuesday, Sessions announced that the federal government would seek reimbursement from major drug companies and distributors to recoup costs from the opioid epidemic. The Justice Department will file a "statement of interest" in consolidated litigation on opioids.
It was not immediately clear whether, in his remarks at the summit, Trump was referring to that Justice Department action or pressing for further steps.
The White House convened the opioid summit to highlight administration efforts to address drug abuse.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 42,000 people died from opioid overdoses in 2016, the last year with publicly available data.
Trump complained that people dealing drugs on the streets did not face enough consequences in the United States.
"Some countries have a very, very tough penalty - the ultimate penalty," he said. "And, by the way, they have much less of a drug problem than we do."
He did not specify the type of punishment he would like to see drug dealers face.
The White House has indicated it would favor new rules to provide prisoners with more opportunities once they are no longer incarcerated, but has declined to back changes that would reduce mandatory minimums for drug offenders.

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Trump says drug dealers may deserve 'ultimate penalty'

Mar 1, 2018 | Associated Press

By Darlene Superville

President Donald Trump said Thursday the "ultimate penalty" may be in order for drug dealers because the nation's drug problem will never be solved without a show of strength and toughness.
The comments were Trump's most explicit on the matter to date. He previously has alluded to death for drug dealers by noting that some countries are "very harsh" with drug dealers. Trump also has said he knows the answer to the drug crisis, but he isn't sure the country is "ready for it yet."
In remarks Thursday at a White House summit on the opioid epidemic, Trump said drug dealers and pushers kill hundreds of people but that that most don't go to jail.
"You know, if you shoot one person, they give you life, they give you the death penalty. These people can kill 2,000, 3,000 people and nothing happens to them," he said, referring to drug dealers.
"Some countries have a very, very tough penalty — the ultimate penalty. And, by the way, they have much less of a drug problem than we do," Trump continued. "So we're going to have to be very strong on penalties."
Trump also held out the possibility of initiating federal lawsuits against opioid makers and distributors. He also said his administration will be "rolling out a policy" on opioids in the coming weeks that will be "very, very strong." Neither he nor his aides provided any details.
Trump said he had spoken with Attorney General Jeff Sessions about suing opioid makers. Sessions announced this week that the Justice Department will support local officials in hundreds of lawsuits against opioid makers and distributors.
Addressing potential federal litigation, Trump said: "I think it's very important because a lot of states are doing it, but I keep saying, if states are doing it, 'Why isn't the federal government doing it?' So that will happen. So that will happen."
Trump's wife, Melania, opened the summit. She said many people are grieving loved ones lost to the opioid crisis and "we need to change that."
She read from a letter from Betty Henderson, a Florida woman who lost her 29-year-old son, Billy, to drugs last September. Henderson appealed to Mrs. Trump for help "in claiming these lost souls before drugs take them from this earth."
Opioids, including prescription opioids, heroin and fentanyl, killed more than 42,000 people in this country in 2016, more than any year on record, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Trump has declared that fighting the opioid epidemic is a priority for the administration but critics say the effort has fallen short.
Trump in the past has addressed the issue of tough penalties for drug dealers and pushers.
In January, Trump said: "We've never had a problem with drugs like we do, whether it's opioid or drugs in the traditional sense. It's never been like it is.
"And we are going to do everything we can. It's a very difficult situation, difficult for many countries," Trump said. "Not so difficult for some, believe it or not. They take it very seriously and they're very harsh. And those are the ones that have much less difficulty. "
Trump raised the issue later that month as he signed legislation giving Customs and Border Protection agents new resources to stop the illicit drug flow. He suggested that he'd like to take a more aggressive approach to the drug crisis — but said the country isn't ready for what he has in mind.
"So we're going to sign this. And it's a step. And it feels like a very giant step, but unfortunately it's not going to be a giant step, because no matter what you do, this is something that keeps pouring in," he said.
"And we're going to find the answer. There is an answer. I think I actually know the answer, but I'm not sure the country's ready for it yet," he added. "Does anybody know what I mean? I think so."

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Trump advocates ‘the ultimate penalty’ for drug dealers during opioid summit

Mar 1, 2018 | CNN

By Staff

President Donald Trump seemed to advocate the death penalty for drug dealers on Thursday during brief comments at an opioid summit at the White House.
During his unannounced appearance in the White House East Room, the President commented on “some countries” that have much stricter punishments for drug dealers. This came after a riff on the “drug dealers and drug pushers” who Trump says are “really doing damage.”
“Some countries have a very, very tough penalty. The ultimate penalty. And by the way, they have much less of a drug problem than we do. So we’re going to have to be very strong on penalties,” Trump said.
The White House did not immediately respond to CNN’s follow-up questions about what exactly Trump meant.
The comments come after Axios reported earlier this week that the President has floated the idea to aides of enforcing a death penalty for drug dealers in the United States.
The President spent the majority of his remarks touting his administration’s involvement in combating the opioid crisis, something that’s been a focus of his since the campaign trail. He said Wednesday that the country needs to fight the drug epidemic with “strength and toughness.” He also said that he had spoken with his embattled Attorney General Jeff Sessions about bringing lawsuits against “some of these opioid companies.”

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Trump brings up death penalty for drug dealers, suing drug companies at opioids summit

Mar 1, 2018 | CBS News

By Staff

President Trump made an unexpected appearance at a White House summit on the opioid crisis Thursday afternoon, floating penalties for "opioid companies" and tougher punishments for drug dealers, noting that some countries have the "ultimate penalty."
"The administration's gonna' be rolling out policy over the next three weeks and it'll be very, very strong," the president said. "I've also spoken with Jeff (Sessions) about bringing a lawsuit against some of these opioid companies. I mean, what they're doing and the way, the distribution. You have people who go to the hospital with a broken arm and the come out addicted. They're addicted to painkillers, and they don't even know what happened."
"So we're going to very much, you know, as you know, I think we've been more involved than any administration by far. It's a problem that's growing. And drugs are a similar but different problem in the sense that we have pushers, and we have drug dealers that don't — I mean, they kill hundreds and hundreds of people. And most of them don't even go to jail. You know, if you shoot one person, they give you life, they give you the death penalty. These people can kill 2,000, 3000 people, and nothing happen to them. And we need strength with respect to the pushers and to the drug dealers. And if you don't do that, you're never going to solve the problem."
"Some countries have a very, very tough penalty, the ultimate penalty," the president said. "And by the way, they have much less of a drug problem than we do. So we're going to have to be very strong on penalties. Hopefully we can do some litigation against the opioid companies."
The president's comments came just after the West Virginia attorney general announced a lawsuit against the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in an effort to decrease opioid prescriptions in the U.S.
The president ignored shouted questions as to whether he has confidence in his attorney general.

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Trump suggests death penalty to stop opioid epidemic

Mar 1, 2018 | Politico

By Sarah Karlin Smith

President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested using the death penalty on drug dealers to address the opioid epidemic, equating providing lethal drugs with murder.
"We have pushers and drugs dealers, they are killing hundreds and hundreds of people," Trump said at a White House summit on opioid abuse. "If you shoot one person, they give you life, they give you the death penalty. These people can kill two thousands, three thousand people and nothing happens to them."
Trump said countries that impose the death penalty on drug dealers have a better record than the United States in combating substance abuse.
"Some countries have a very, very tough penalty — the ultimate penalty — and by the way, they have much less of a drug problem than we do," he said.
The remarks follow media reports earlier this week that Trump has privately praised countries like Singapore that mandate the death penalty for drug traffickers, arguing a softer approach to substance abuse won't be successful.
The remarks are likely to rankle administration critics who have urged the White House to focus on the public health component of the opioid crisis. The president's remarks did not touch on health approaches like providing additional funding for treatment.
Trump also said his administration will unveil new policies to address the crisis over the next few weeks but did not provide any details, simply stating they would be "very, very strong."
He expressed support for going after pharmaceutical companies and distributors that supply prescription painkillers for their role in the crisis.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said this week that the Justice Department will file a statement of interest in litigation that includes hundreds of lawsuits by states and localities against opioid manufacturers and distributors.
The Justice Department will argue that the federal government has borne substantial costs due to the opioid epidemic and should be reimbursed for health programs and law enforcement efforts to combat the crisis.
Cities, counties and states are seeking to recover the costs associated with providing treatment and public safety, by targeting companies that they allege used false, deceptive or unfair marketing practices for prescription opioids.
Sessions also said the federal government is studying the possibility of initiating its own opioid litigation.
The federal government previously went after many opioid-makers in court a decade ago, with companies like Purdue Pharma pleading guilty to misleading regulators, doctors and patients about the drugs' risks of addiction and abuse.

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Trump suggests death penalty for drug dealers during White House meeting on opioids

Mar 1, 2018 | USA Today

By David Jackson

President Trump broached the idea of instituting the death penalty for drug dealers on Thursday, but stopped short of formally proposing it.
"Some countries have a very, very tough penalty — the ultimate penalty," Trump said during a White House conference on the opioid crisis. "And, by the way, they have much less of a drug problem than we do. So we're going to have to be very strong on penalties."
The Philippines and Singapore are among countries that execute drug dealers, and Trump has discussed those policies in meetings with the leaders of those countries, officials said.
Critics have assailed Trump's praise of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, whose self-proclaimed war on drugs has included extra-judicial killings.
In discussing the nation's epidemic of pain killer addiction at the White House, Trump said he will be "rolling out policy" over the next three weeks, and that he has spoken with Attorney General Jeff Sessions about possibly filing lawsuits against opioid companies.
He also amplified the theme of harsh penalties for those who traffic illegally in drugs.
"You know, if you shoot one person, they give you life, they give you the death penalty," Trump said. "These people can kill 2,000, 3,000 people and nothing happens to them."

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Trump Says Administration Working On 'Very Very Strong' Policies To Combat Opioids

Mar 1, 2018 | NPR

By Brian Naylor

The White House convened a summit on the opioid epidemic Thursday, where first lady Melania Trump said she is proud of the what the administration has already accomplished on the issue, but that "we all know there is much work still to be done."
Although he had not been expected to participate, President Trump briefly joined the event.
After introducing a personal friend who lost a son to drugs, the president addressed his administration's plans for battling the opioid epidemic. "The administration is going to be rolling out policy over the next three weeks, and it will be very, very strong," Trump said. I've also spoken with [Attorney General] Jeff [Sessions] about bringing a lawsuit against some of these opioid companies."
Since President Trump declared the opioid epidemic a national public health emergency last October, advocates and members of Congress have complained they haven't seen much action and have struggled to get information about what the administration has been doing.
White House officials insist the administration has been hard at work, and that's what Thursday's opioid summit was all about. It featured Cabinet members, along with Mrs. Trump and counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway.
The summit was intended to "highlight the progress the Administration has made to combat drug demand and the opioid crisis," a White House official said in a statement.
In 2016, the most recent year for which data are available, opioid-related overdoses killed more than 42,000 Americans. That's an average of 115 deaths every day.
Last November, the president's commission on opioids released a lengthy set of recommendations, and most remain a work in progress or unaddressed altogether.
Several advocates NPR contacted ahead of the summit said they hadn't seen as much action as they had hoped, especially in the area of making quality, scientifically sound treatment options more readily available.
In recent weeks there has been some movement, with a congressional budget agreement pledging to add several billion dollars to combat the crisis and the Department of Justice announcing it would work with states that are suing drug manufacturers.
Still, the advocates said that is far short of what they had hoped when Trump declared an emergency, and they said they were interested to see what new information they could learn from the White House summit.
Panels planned for Thursday's event included a discussion of prevention, treatment and recovery with Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Veterans Affairs Secretary Dr. David Shulkin and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson. A discussion of law enforcement and drug interdiction efforts with Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen and Attorney General Jeff Sessions was also planned.
Also on the agenda: a question-and-answer session with Jim Carroll, the recently named acting director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. President Trump has also nominated Carroll to permanently hold the position of "drug czar." Trump's first nominee was forced to withdraw. Carroll is a lawyer who has extensive government and private sector experience but hasn't done any work in the public health arena.
Other administration officials were expected to attend as well as about 200 advocates and others directly connected to the opioid crisis. There were some well-known names among them, including former congresswoman Mary Bono, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi who was a member of the president's opioid commission, the first lady of North Dakota Kathryn Helgaas Burgum who is herself recovering from opioid addiction and former Fox News personality Eric Bolling whose son died of an opioid overdose.
"It's a problem that's growing," the president also said while speaking to those at the summit Thursday. "And drugs are a similar but different problem," Trump also said, "in the sense that we have pushers and we have drug dealers that don't — I mean, they kill hundreds and hundreds of people, and most of them don't even go to jail."
"Some countries have a very, very tough penalty — the ultimate penalty [for drug dealers]," Trump also said. "And, by the way, they have much less of a drug problem than we do. So we're going to have to be very strong on penalties."
Speaking before to NPR before the start of the event, the nation's top doctor said he was a mission to raise awareness about the epidemic. "We want America to understand this is a problem," Surgeon General Jerome Adams said in an interview that aired Thursday on Morning Edition. "The majority of the public does not see the opioid epidemic as rising to the level of an emergency, so it's important that we continue to say at the highest levels, this is a problem in all communities and it's getting worse."
But he added he also wants Americans to have hope. "The administration has prioritized the issue and is implementing strategies around saving lives, lowering demand and lowering supply," said Adams.

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Trump says federal government lawsuit against drug companies over opioid crisis 'will happen'

Mar 1, 2018 | CNBC

By Dan Mangan

President Donald Trump said Thursday that the federal government will follow the example set by states and cities and begin suing drug companies and distributors for their role in the opioid epidemic.
"I keep saying, 'If the states are doing it, why isn't the federal government doing it?'" Trump said during a surprise appearance at the White House's opioid summit.
"So, that will happen," Trump said. "That will happen."
The president said he has already spoken to Attorney General Jeff Sessions about taking such federal action against the makers of prescription painkillers.
About 62,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2016, with most of those cases related to either prescription opioids, heroin and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.
The negative economic effect of the opioid crisis recently was estimated to be more than $1 trillion from 2001 through last year, primarily from a loss in earnings and productivity from victims of fatal ODs.
Trump also said Thursday that the U.S. needs to get tough with drug dealers.
He said other countries which impose the death penalty for illegal drug selling have fewer problems with drug abuse than the U.S.
If the federal government actually does sue opioid manufacturers, it would be going significantly further than an action announced Tuesday.
Sessions that day revealed that the Justice Department would be filinga so-called statement of interest in hundreds of lawsuits that states and municipalities and Native American tribes already have pending against opioid makers.
The lawsuits, which claim that drugmakers, distributors and dispensers misled customers about the risks of addiction from opioids, have been consolidated in an action pending in U.S. District Court in Cleveland. The company defendants in the pending lawsuits have either publicly denied the allegations in statements to the media, or have declined to comment.
But "the statement of interest does not make the government party to the lawsuit," attorney Jesse Gessin told NBC News for a story published Thursday.
Gessin was one of several lawyers quoted by NBC who were skeptical that the Trump administration will get aggressive with drug companies over the issue.

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Trump praises countries with death penalty for drug dealers at opioids summit

Mar 1, 2018 | NBC News

By Ali Vitali

President Donald Trump on Thursday praised countries that impose "the ultimate penalty" on drug traffickers, suggesting that harsher punishments for "drug pushers and drug dealers" would help combat America's opioid crisis.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday praised countries that impose "the ultimate penalty" on drug traffickers, suggesting that harsher punishments for "drug pushers and drug dealers" would help combat America's opioid crisis.
"And, by the way, [those countries] have much less of a drug problem than we do," he said in remarks at a White House summit on the epidemic. "So we’re going to have to be very strong on penalties."
The president's comments come several days after Axios reported that Trump talks privately about executing drug dealers, like Singapore and the Philippines do. NBC News has not independently confirmed the report.
Addressing the group Thursday, which included Attorney General Jeff Sessions as well as families and individuals affected by the opioid epidemic, Trump promised action from his administration "over the next three weeks."
He also said that he'd spoken to "Jeff" about wanting to bring lawsuits against some opioid manufacturers, saying the companies were responsible for killing thousands of people, but had not been punished for it.
Trump's interaction with his attorney general at the summit was notable, given that the day before, he called Session's handling of a Justice Department inquiry into Republican allegations of surveillance abuses by the FBI "disgraceful." Trump's Twitter attack, the latest in a series of public critiques the president has levied against the nation's top law enforcement officer, prompted Sessions to defend himself in a rare statement.
During Thursday's press briefing, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked if Trump had any plans to remove his attorney general.
"Not that I know of," she said.
Trump has repeatedly said that combating the opioid crisis is a priority for his administration. He declared it a national public health emergency in October of last year.
"As Americans, we cannot allow this to continue," Trump said at the time. "It is time to liberate our communities from this scourge of drug addiction."
But advocates pushing the president to make good on his promise have said that so far, his administration's efforts, like Sessions' recent "statement of interest" in supporting local governments that go after manufacturers, are likely to fall short.

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Trump backs DEATH for drug dealers at opioid summit saying other countries which execute them have 'much less of a problem'

Mar 1, 2018 | Daily Mail

By Franceska Chambers &^ David Martosko & AP

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he's spoken with Attorney General Jeff Sessions about suing the makers of opioid drugs, just days after the Justice Department announced it would help a long list of county and municipal governments do just that.
Previewing the measure, Trump said the administration would be introducing 'very strong on penalties' as he reminded his audience that in some countries, drug dealing is punishable by death.
'Some countries have a very, very tough penalty -- the ultimate penalty. And, by the way, they have much less of a drug problem than we do,' he said.
According to The Economist, drug trafficking is punishable by death in 14 countries but only seven - China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore - have routinely executed offenders. Data from another six, including North Korea and Syria, isn't airtight.
Extrajudicial killings have also run rampant in the Philippines as that country's president, Rodrigo Duterte, has waged an aggressive campaign against illegal substances. More than 12,000 suspected drug users and dealers have died in the two years since the drug war began, says Human Rights Watch.
Trump, who met with Duterte for the first time in November during an Asian summit, seemed to admire on Thursday the harsh penalties that dictatorships have been putting on drug pushing as he spoke about his administration's new policies at his opioid summit.
'The administration is going to be rolling out policy over the next three weeks and it will be very, very strong. I've also spoken with Jeff about bringing a lawsuit against some of these opioid companies,' the president said.
Trump cited the 'distribution' practices of pharmaceutical companies in his criticism.
'You have people that go to the hospital with a broken arm and they come out and they're addicted. They're addicted to painkillers, and they don't even know what happened,' he said.
'They go in for something minor and they come out and they're in serious shape.'
Hundreds of local governments have already filed lawsuits against manufacturers and distributors of the powerful opioid medicines.
The move is part of a broader effort to more aggressively target prescription drugmakers for their role in the epidemic, Sessions said Tuesday.
The Justice Department will file a statement of interest in the multidistrict lawsuit, arguing the federal government has borne substantial costs as a result of the crisis that claimed more than 64,000 lives in 2016.

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At opioid summit, Trump suggests dealers should get the death penalty

Mar 1, 2018 | ABC News

By Alexander Mallin

President Donald Trump made a surprise stop by the White House's summit on opioids today, where he suggested dealers face "the ultimate penalty" for their roles in drug-related deaths.
The summit came more than four months after Trump declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency, though the decision faced criticism as it stopped short of a national emergency declaration that would have made an additional surge of federal funds available to address treatment and recovery efforts.
First lady Melania Trump delivered opening remarks at the summit, remarking on her travels in recent months with the president across the country, in which she visited hospitals and treatment centers, where she's been briefed by those directly impacted by the crisis.
Addressing the crowd of more than 200 participants from across the nation, the first lady read a letter sent to her from a mother who lost her son in an opioid-related death.
"Sadly she’s not alone in her grief and we need to change that," Melania Trump said.
The White House has pointed to recent positive movement in trying to rally more resources to combat the epidemic, including the president's recent budget proposal that called for $3 billion in new funding in 2018 and $10 billion in new funding in 2019 for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to combat the opioid crisis. The president also recently nominated Jim Carroll as a new drug czar to lead the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), though lawmakers have recently criticized the White House for scaling back the ONDCP's role in coordinating the administration's response to the opioid crisis.
While prior to his arrival the discussion in the opioid summit largely focused around expanding access to treatment and interdiction efforts of drugs coming in from foreign countries, in his remarks President Trump went as far to suggest that convicted drug dealers should face the death penalty.
"They kill hundreds and hundreds of people, and most of them don't even go to jail. If you shoot one person, they give you life. They give you the death penalty," Trump said. "These people can kill 2,000, 3,000 people and nothing happens to them. And we need strength with respect to the pushers and to the drug dealers. And if we don't do that, you will never solve the problem."
Trump also downplayed the role of "blue ribbon committees," appearing to disparage his own appointed opioid commission that issued a round of recommendations intended to combat the crisis last year.
"If you want to be weak and talk about just blue ribbon committees, that is the not answer," Trump said "The answer is you have to have strength and toughness. The drug dealers and the pushers are -- they are doing damage. They are really doing damage. Some countries have a very, very tough penalty. The ultimate penalty."
Still looming over most of the summit was the recent turbulence and controversies across the administration.
Senior counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway moderated two panels with Cabinet secretaries, including several who have drawn fire in recent weeks for negative headlines related to the management of their agencies.
Veterans' Affairs Secretary David Shulkin participated in a panel on prevention, treatment and recovery with Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson. Shulkin recently apologized to VA staff after the agency's Office of the Inspector General alleged Shulkin improperly accepted a gift of Wimbledon tickets during a work trip to London. Carson, meanwhile, has also sought to beat back criticism after it was revealed earlier this week his agency spent more than $31,000 on a new table and chairs for the dining room adjacent to Carson's office. Carson has since asked HUD to cancel the order.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions also spoke on a panel amid heightened tensions with the president following a tweet from Trump Wednesday that described Sessions' actions as "disgraceful."
In a remarkable move, Sessions released a statement Wednesday appearing to push back against the president.
"As long as I am the attorney general, I will continue to discharge my duties with integrity and honor," Sessions said. "And this department will continue to do its work in a fair and impartial manner according to the law and Constitution."
Trump did not directly interact with Sessions while the two were in the room together, though he did briefly reference him in his remarks.
"I've spoken with Jeff about bringing a lawsuit against some of these opioid companies," Trump said.

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Trump calls for 'very strong' penalties for drug dealers

Mar 1, 2018 | The Hill

By Peter Sullivan

President Trump on Thursday called for being "very strong on penalties" for drug dealers while speaking at a White House opioid summit.
Trump called for tough action against those who are dealing opioids. While he did not mention the death penalty specifically, Axios reported recently that Trump has privately been calling for the death penalty for drug traffickers.
"Some countries have a very, very tough penalty, the ultimate penalty," Trump said Thursday.
"The answer is you have to have strength, and you have to have toughness," he added.
Trump also alluded to lawsuits against opioid companies, saying he has spoken with Attorney General Jeff Sessions about the topic. He said he's "spoken with Jeff about bringing a lawsuit against some of these opioid companies."
It was not clear if this statement referred to an additional action beyond the statement of interest Sessions filed this week in a major lawsuit against opioid distributors and manufacturers.

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Trump Seemingly Proposes Executing Drug Dealers: Some Countries Have the ‘Ultimate Penalty’

Mar 1, 2018 | Mediaite

By Justin Baragona

Last week, it was reported that President Donald Trump wanted the United States to copy the policies of other countries and sentence convicted drug dealers to the death penalty. During a surprise appearance at an opioid summit held at the White House this afternoon, he seemed to confirm that reported stance as he noted other countries are “very tough” on drugs and the US needed to follow suit.
After stating that he has discussed with Attorney General Jeff Sessions about bringing lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies that provide opioids because “you have people that go to the hospital with a broken arm and they come out and they’re addicted,” the president moved on to talking about illegal drug dealers.
“Most of them don’t go to jail,” Trump declared. “If you shoot one person, they give you life, the death penalty. These people can kill 2,000, 3,000 people and nothing happens to them.”
Claiming that “strength” is needed and “blue ribbon committees” aren’t going to work, Trump proclaimed that “the answer is to have strength and toughness.”
“Some countries have a very, very tough penalty, the ultimate penalty,” he said. “By the way, they’ve had much less of a drug problem than we do. So we’re going to have to be very strong on penalties.”
He ended his remarks by circling back to opioid companies, saying that “hopefully we can do some litigation” against them.

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Trump, at Opioid Summit, suggests ‘ultimate penalty’ for drug dealers

Mar 1, 2018 | Agripulse

By Daniel Enoch

President Trump today suggested the “ultimate penalty” for drug dealers may be part of the solution to the opioid crisis and called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to bring lawsuits against manufacturers of the powerful and addictive painkillers.
Trump, in a brief appearance at a White House Opioids Summit to highlight the federal government’s response to the epidemic, said a criminal could get the death penalty or life in prison for shooting someone, but drug dealers, in spreading their poison, “can kill two thousand, three thousand people and nothing happens to them.”
“If you want to be weak, and you want to talk about just blue-ribbon committees, that’s not the answer,” Trump said. “The answer is you have to have strength and you have to have toughness.”
He went on: “Some countries have a very, very tough penalty, the ultimate penalty, and by the way, they have much less of a drug problem than we do. So, we’re going to have to be very strong on penalties.”
The president said he’s also spoken with Attorney General Sessions about suing the companies that manufacture and distribute the drugs, which are being blamed for thousands of overdose deaths each year.
“Hopefully we can do some litigation against the opioid companies,” Trump said. “I think that’s very important because the states are doing it, and I keep saying, if the states are doing it, why isn’t the federal government doing it.
“So that’ll happen,” said the president, who added that the White House will be rolling out new policy “over the next three weeks.”
Anne Hazlett, Perdue's assistant for Rural Development, applauded Trump for addressing the "enormous challenge" presented by the epidemic.
"No part of our country has gone untouched by this epidemic, and rural communities have been particularly impacted -- from law enforcement to social services and workforce development," Hazlett said in a statement. "As we seek to increase rural prosperity, USDA is committed to partnering with rural leaders in combating the opioid crisis, because it impacts the quality of life and economic opportunity in rural America."
Earlier, at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce forum on “Combating the Opioid Crisis," House Energy and Commerce Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., said his panel is considering several pieces of opioid legislation that he hopes will be passed before Memorial Day.
The bills include a measure to add information about a patient’s use of opioids to certain medical records, establish a federal coordinator to oversee an electronic database on opioid statistics, funding resources, and analysis of the effectiveness of federal programs; and require the Government Accountability Office to assess ways to safely dispose of the drugs.
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, also spoke at the Chamber event, saying there’s still a long way to go before the U.S. can turn the corner on the epidemic, despite devoting “unprecedented” resources to the campaign.
Portman said the bipartisan CARA 2.0 Act, introduced in the Senate this week, may help, building on the success of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) of 2016. The new legislation, he said, will provide additional resources to strengthen the government’s response.

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Trump Suggests Executing Drug Dealers to Solve Opioid Crisis

Mar 1, 2018 | New York Magazine

By Adam K. Raymond

President Trump on Thursday came closer than ever to publicly endorsing the death penalty for drug dealers, a policy he has reportedly advocated for in private.
“Some countries have a very, very tough penalty — the ultimate penalty,” Trump said at a White House summit on the opioid crisis. “And, by the way, they have much less of a problem.”
“If you shoot one person, you get life in prison,” he added. “These people kill 1,000, 2,000 people and nothing happens to them.”
Among the countries that execute drug traffickers are Singapore and the Philippines, whose authoritarian president, Rodrigo Duterte, has earned Trump’s admiration. “I just wanted to congratulate you because I am hearing of the unbelievable job on the drug problem,” Trump said to Duterte on a phone call last year. “Many countries have the problem, we have a problem, but what a great job you are doing and I just wanted to call and tell you that.”
Under Duterte’s rule, 12,000 suspected drug users and dealers have been killed in the Philippines, some by police and some by vigilantes, according to Human Rights Watch.
Trump’s interest in executing drug dealers fits a pattern that’s seen him advocate for law enforcement solutions to the opioid crisis, without giving equal attention to treatment and prevention efforts. As he said in his first State of the Union address, “We must get much tougher on drug dealers and pushers if we are going to succeed in stopping this scourge.”

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Former Fox News Host Eric Bolling Speaks at White House Opioid Summit

| Hollywood Reporter

By Staff

Former Fox News anchor Eric Bolling, who has advocated for combating the opioid addiction epidemic in the U.S. since the untimely death of his son last fall, spoke Thursday at a summit on the issue held at the White House.
Bolling said he was pleased by President Donald Trump's comments at the summit and is "cautiously optimistic" that the White House is on the right track, though he's hoping the administration focuses on the awareness side of the issue as well as the punitive side.
During the summit, Trump said he has talked with Attorney General Jeff Sessions about suing some of the pharmaceutical companies that produce opioids. He also said his administration will be rolling out "very strong" policies addressing the issue in the next few weeks.
"I think they hit all the important topics. It sounded good," Bolling said of the pronouncements made during the summit. "Let's see if they can put all their lofty goals into action, because then you will see the curve of opioid deaths turn down. But right now, it's spiking straight up."
In addition to addressing the crowd, Bolling said he talked with Trump, Sessions, several cabinet secretaries and FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb.
Bolling has visited the White House several times over the last few months to meet with President Trump and members of his administration and has pledged his services as part of a larger awareness campaign, as he told The Hollywood Reporter in January.
During the summit, the White House played a three-minute-long video in which Bolling tells the story of his son's death. Bolling said he taped the video about a month ago, and that it's part of a new White House digital initiative called "The Crisis Next Door," which will feature video testimonials from people impacted by opioid addiction.
"They're doing a lot," Bolling said of the Trump administration's efforts. "I think they can do more. But they're doing a lot."
Bolling, who separated "amicably" from Fox News in September, also told his son's story and talked about opioid addiction at the Conservative Political Action Conference last week outside Washington, where he was well-received personally by attendees and fellow conservatives in media.

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White House Plans to Sue Opioid Makers

Mar 1, 2018 | Medpage Today

By Shannon Firth

To stop the opioid crisis, President Trump said on Thursday, the country needs to be tougher on drug dealers and on drug manufacturers.
"We have pushers and we have drug dealers ... I mean they kill hundreds and hundreds of people, and most of them don't even go to jail ... We need strength with respect to the pushers and to the drug dealers. If we don't do that you're never going to solve the problem," he said during the White House Opioid Summit.
"If you want to be weak and you want to talk about just blue-ribbon committees, that's not the answer. The answer is you have to have strength and you have to have toughness."
"Some countries have a very, very tough penalty, the ultimate penalty, and by the way they have much less of a drug problem than we do. So, we're going to have to be very strong on penalties."
Trump also fired a warning shot to opioid manufacturers.
"I've also spoken with [Attorney General] Jeff [Sessions] about bringing a lawsuit against some of these opioid companies," he said.
The administration will be rolling out new policies related to the epidemic over the next 3 weeks "and it will be very, very strong," Trump said.
Prior to the president's speech, Kellyanne Conway, White House counselor and a leader on the president's opioid initiatives, led two panel discussions: one on prevention and treatment of the epidemic and the other on law enforcement efforts.
The Trump administration has been criticized for failing to put money and other resources behind its rhetoric on opioids. At the request of Senate Democrats, the Government Accountability Office has agreed to open an investigation into the administration's actions or lack of them, according to Politico.
During the first panel, Alex Azar, JD, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, described steps HHS has taken since October 2017 when the administration declared the epidemic a public health emergency.
He mentioned an "Opioids Code-a-thon" in December that was organized to help programmers created new prevention tools such as apps that use available data to "monitor risky opioid prescribing and help providers assess their own prescribing levels," and compare them with their peers.
He highlighted the new streamlined process HHS had designed for substance use disorder treatment waivers, through which 5 state have received waivers to date.
Azar also described new draft guidance from the FDAthat aims to speed the development of new medication-assisted treatment (MAT). That only one-third of treatment centers currently provide MAT is "unacceptable," he said.
Finally, he noted that the administration had doubled funding for state-level responses to the epidemic, from $500 million to $1 billion, and proposed $13 billion for the crisis in total.
David Shulkin, MD, Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, touted an Opioids Safety Initiative, begun in 2012, under which the VA reduced opioid used in the agency by 41% -- primarily by shrinking the number of first-time prescriptions and instead choosing alternatives to opioids.
In addition, two months ago, the agency began publishing prescriber rates for every VA medical center across the country.
"The highest in the country is in Roseburg, Oregon, at 20% of all prescriptions and the lowest is in Cleveland at 3%," Shulkin said.
He also highlighted the STOP PAIN model, VA's best practices for responding to the opioids crisis, which includes a step-wise approach to pain management (with opioids as a last resort for pain rather than the go-to therapy), monitoring of prescribing patterns using states' prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMP), academic detailing where the agency's pharmacists train doctors in proper prescribing habits, and distributing over 100,000 naloxone kits to first responders.
Lastly, Shulkin explained that veterans are given an informed consent document to sign before they use opioids, "because they have a shared responsibility in this."
Conway had another recommendation for stemming the crisis: "Why not make take-back day everyday?"
Most take-back programs for disposing of unwanted medications currently happen only once or twice a year, but Conway suggested partnering with pharmacists and first responders to expand those opportunities.
Earlier this week, Sessions announced a task force that aims to hold drug companies responsible for their role in the epidemic, according to CNBC.
In the summit's second panel on Thursday, Sessions described other actions taken by the Justice Department to quash the epidemic, including arresting hundreds of professionals including over 100 doctors and nurses in July, for healthcare fraud such as prescribing and distributing opioids.
"We want the death rate down and we'd like to see the amount of drugs prescribed down. If we are an outlier ... and we have Medicare, Medicaid, VA and private insurance paying for these drugs to make people sick, it makes no sense whatsoever. [It's] actually killing people. So we've got to tighten that up," he said.
Sessions said the Drug Enforcement Administration can pull a license for an improper prescriber before a criminal case is made, through civil lawsuits.
"We're looking to see if there's additional civil litigation that the Department of Justice can take independently of the state lawsuit," Sessions added.

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White House Gives Status Update On Opioid Emergency

Mar 1, 2018 | New England Public Radio

By Tamara Keith

The White House convened a summit on the opioid epidemic Thursday, with first lady Melania Trump saying she is proud of the what the administration has already accomplished on the issue, but that "we all know there is much work still to be done."
Since President Trump declared the opioid epidemic a national public health emergency last October, advocates and members of Congress have complained they haven't seen much action and have struggled to get information about what the administration has been doing.
White House officials insist the administration has been hard at work, and that's what Thursday's opioid summit is all about. It featured Cabinet members, along with Mrs. Trump and counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway.
The summit was intended to "highlight the progress the Administration has made to combat drug demand and the opioid crisis," a White House official said in a statement.
In 2016, the most recent year for which data are available, opioid-related overdoses killed more than 42,000 Americans. That's an average of 115 deaths every day.
Last November, the president's commission on opioids released a lengthy set of recommendations, and most remain a work in progress or unaddressed altogether.
Several advocates NPR contacted ahead of the summit said they hadn't seen as much action as they had hoped, especially in the area of making quality, scientifically sound treatment options more readily available.
In recent weeks there has been some movement, with a congressional budget agreement pledging to add several billion dollars to combat the crisis and the Department of Justice announcing it would work with states that are suing drug manufacturers.
Still, the advocates said that is far short of what they had hoped when Trump declared an emergency, and they said they were interested to see what new information they could learn from the White House summit.
President Trump, however, is not expected to attend. Panels include a discussion of prevention, treatment and recovery with Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Veterans Affairs Secretary Dr. David Shulkin and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson. There will also be a discussion of law enforcement and drug interdiction efforts with Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
There will also be a question and answer session with Jim Carroll, the recently named acting director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. President Trump has also nominated Carroll to permanently hold the position of "drug czar." Trump's first nominee was forced to withdraw. Carroll is a lawyer who has extensive government and private sector experience but hasn't done any work in the public health arena.
Other administration officials are expected to attend as well as about 200 advocates and others directly connected to the opioid crisis. There are some well-known names among them, including former congresswoman Mary Bono, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi who was a member of the president's opioid commission, the first lady of North Dakota Kathryn Helgaas Burgum who is herself recovering from opioid addiction and former Fox News personality Eric Bolling whose son died of an opioid overdose.
"We want America to understand this is a problem," Surgeon General Jerome Adams said in an interview that aired Thursday on Morning Edition. "The majority of the public does not see the opioid epidemic as rising to the level of an emergency, so it's important that we continue to say at the highest levels, this is a problem in all communities and it's getting worse."
But he added he also wants Americans to have hope. "The administration has prioritized the issue and is implementing strategies around saving lives, lowering demand and lowering supply," said Adams.

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Broadcast Media Coverage

MSNBC Live With Craig Melvin

Mar 1, 2018 | National Programming

By MSNBC (MSNBC)

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33165852?token=a6619025-4696-477e-b13e-569b4278c419
Rough Transcript: right now the trump administration is hosting an opioid summit at the white house to update us on an epidemic that kills more than 50,000 americans every year. melania trump opened the conversation. take a look. >> thank you again for your hard work and commitment to this topic. you are all making a real difference, and i look forward to hearing the important action items that everyone will take away from today's summit. 1:51 PM>> i'm joined by retired general barry mccaffrey, who's also the white house drug czar during the clinton administration. and vicky cornell, her husband singer chris cornell died last year after battling drug addiction. thank you for being her. vicky, i want to start with you. i want to send my condolences for your loss. and i just want to let you talk. what is your message today? >> i think that we have a deadly epidemic that is taking 174 lives a day. and that's due to drug overdoses alone, doesn't take into account drug and who will-related deaths. it would be like a plane crash every single day. there would be outrage and it's time for us to voice our outrage and do something about this epidemic. >> general mccaffrey, let me have you respond to what vicky 1:52 PMis saying, this lack of outrage that she talks about to address this crisis, what's really a crisis in our country. the white house is making an commitment, proposing an additional $3 billion for the department of health and human services, an additional $10 billion for next year. what do you make of those proposals? is it enough? >> we're proud that vicky cornell has joined the board of the addiction policy forum. it's based primarily around recognition of the massive loss of life, the tragedy of this ongoing overdose epidemic. basically 64,000 dead last year from before you drug overdoses. i'm glad the white house is paying attention to it and the first lady opened the 1:53 PMconference. at the end of the day we care about money and strategy and we haven't yet released the new national drug policy strategy. the christie commission did a great job outletiining the issu. we're just not paying enough attention to the biggest health crisis we've had in decades. >> why does it matter that they're acting directors? a lot of people don't understand what the difference is. what are you arguing? we need people installed who are there permanently? >> the president does. this is an obvious political winner of an issue for him to show he's concerned about this massive loss of life. and the criminal conduct and the devastation is causing to american communities. 1:54 PMyou're going to have people the president has trust in, that the nation understands -- knows about the issue. finally they have to be senate confirmed so that they have standing in the most important part of government, which is the budget process. it takes organization, leadership, and resources. those are lacking. >> vicky, you obviously do a lot of work to help those who've been affected by this. what can you tell us in terms of the resources that may have been helpful you to and where is it country falling short? >> i think that there's a severe lack of resources. that's one of the things along 1:55 PMwith the addiction policy forum we're working to change. we just launched the portal online to help families find treatment and assess where they're at, then their loved ones. we're also going to be launching crisis line in the spring dedicated to addiction, a hot line that's monitored with reel clinicians 24 hours a day. and i think that really our biggest issue is to train the medical community, medical professionals. right now only 8% of all medical universities are even doing anything with a curriculum on addiction. it's not required. so i think that we're lacking severely in the medical field and we need to retrain our doctors to be able to deal with the issue and the epidemic of overprescribing and how to treat people with addiction. >> vicky cornell, i'll leave it there with that important last thought. general barry mccaffrey, thank you as well. this is a critical topic we'll continue to follow. appreciate your voices today. thank you.

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MTP Daily

Mar 1, 2018 | National Programming

By MSNBC (MSNBC)

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33165854?token=a6619025-4696-477e-b13e-569b4278c419
Rough Transcript: welcome back. president trump declared the opioid epidemic a nationwide public health emergency and renewing the declaration in january and today they convened a summit to see what has been accomplished since. the plan to combat the crisis focuses on crack down on drug dealers an the manufacturers. but critics said the declaration hasn't had much of an impact and for funding is needed for the plan to be more effective. frankly congress hasn't done much. the president briefly stopped by and said he is giving jeff sessions a role in helping the states take on the big drug companies. >> the administration will be rolling out policy over the next three weeks and it is very, very strong. 5:38 PMi've also spoken with jeff about bringing a lawsuit against some of opioid companies. i mean what they are doing and the way the distribution -- >> joining me now is -- a friend of the show, we like to say, jan raider, the fire chief in huntington, west virginia, which is the overdose capital of america and the focus of the documentary harreroin. i look forward to seeing you on the red carpet on sunday. let me ask you this. since the declaration how have you been assisted, the declaration of this as a public health emergency, how has this helped you do what you do to fight on the front lines. >> it has not helped -- at all. what has helped us in huntington west virginia is we have become a city of solutions and we have banned together to come up with 5:39 PMinnovative programs to help those suffering from substance abuse disorder. >> your mayor was there at the summit today. was his goal to find out what the government is doing or was his goal more of, guys, this is what you are not doing and let me tell you how you can help? >> i think that we -- we have banned together as a city of solution and we're look for partners at the state level and the federal level. and until they start funding programs that we're trying to push. we're behind the eight ball here. we need help and more funding. >> remember one of the times i had you on, what is one thing right now and you said narcan. i never have enough narcan. is that how this should be priority. number one, it is an epidemic and we have to stop it in its 5:40 PMtracks and then move on to addiction and recovery and then education and then talk the bigger picture, prevention and look for alternative. we need to work backwards, stop the -- stop the bleeding first. >> well the narc can keeps people alive because they have to be alive before long-term recovery and then a big focus on getting people into long-term recovery. so technically we have to do a multi-facet add poach. we have to start talking in the schools at a very early age. prevention is key. we need to help those suffering to get into long-term treatment. and we need to work on the laws on how we are able to prescribe. so we don't have another generation of those suffering from addiction that got started from a legal prescription of opiates. >> about a month ago i know we checked in behind the scenes in 5:41 PMyou said we almost have a zero day. a zero overdose day. >> we almost did. the huntington -- we had a zero day but unfortunately cabbel countries ems did go on two cases that day. we have declined over the past six months. we have decline in people using narcan in the field and we're excited about that. we started a quick response team and that sends a paramedic, somebody and a police officer out to visit people who have overdosed within 72 hours of the overdose. and right now our numbers are very promising. 38% of those individuals that the team has made contact with are now in recovery. 5:42 PM>> getting rid of the supply is a big deal. i know that there have been some pledges by drug company to pull back on how many they make and recommendations to doctors. have you seen any progress in just -- fewer opioids available. >> not at this time. but i look for it in the coming year. 2018 will be a good year for huntington and the state of west virginia. we're starting to do some things that are really going to turn the tide here. >> is it just -- is it does feel as if -- the fact is that finally a spotlight has been put on this. at least as far as west virginia is concerned. you have gotten the attention of everybody that matters to west virginia. just that in itself, is that just the community to be -- to say what should i do better? is that what you noticed. >> i think that the heroin has highlighted the hard work and the commitment of strong west virginians and that how -- we're resilient and we will not give up and we are going to do our best and i think that that documentary started many conversations that need to happen. and until then i don't think a lot of people were focused on what is going on on the front lines. and you have to know what is going on the front lines to make a difference. >> and that is how the best way -- i think many people will learn a lot from you when they watch this documentary. good to see you. i look forward to seeing you sunday. >> thank you, sir. i appreciate it. i hope i don't fall. >> i'm sure you won't. thank you very much.

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Michaela

Mar 1, 2018 | National Programming

By CNN

Video Link:http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33165856?token=a6619025-4696-477e-b13e-569b4278c419
Rough Transcript: president trump just spoke moments ago at a summit on opioids at the white house. the administration is highlighting its efforts to fight those drugs. from treatments to addicts to awe law enforcement tracking down at the source. >> some countries have a very, very tough penalty. the ultimate penalty. by the way, they have much less of a drug problem than we do. so we're going to have to be very strong on penalties. hopefully, we can do litigation against the opioid companies. i think it's very important because a lot of states are doing it. but i keep saying if the states are doing it, why isn't the federal government doing it? >> that was moments ago at the white house. the president's budget proposed $3 billion this year to fight the opioid opepidemic.

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NBC 5 News at 5pm

Mar 1, 2018 | Dallas, TX

By KXAS (NBC)

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33165861?token=a6619025-4696-477e-b13e-569b4278c419
Rough Transcript: in the opioid crisis takes center stage on capitol hill. nbc5 health reporter bianca castro is here with all of that. >> so, lawmakers convened at a summit on the opioid epidemic this afternoon including a surprise appearance from the president. and he promised new policy in the next few weeks to crackdown on opioid companies. and floated the idea of executing drug dealers. the president declared the opioidcrisis a public health emergency back in october.

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News 12 Long Island

Mar 1, 2018 | New York, NY

By N12LI (News 12)

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33165857?token=a6619025-4696-477e-b13e-569b4278c419
Rough Transcript: the white house hosted a summit today on opioid addiction -- and the trump administration's plans to fight the deadly epidemic. " this is totall unprecedented in the history of this country. it cannot continue. it will not continue." "instead of reaching fo opioids initially, we have a stepped approach towards pain management where opioids is at the end, not the beginning. " the summit comes days after attorney general jeff sessions announced a new opioid task force, and support for lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors.

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NBC 10 Boston News at 5:00pm

Mar 1, 2018 | Boston, MA

By WBTSLD (NBC)

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33165863?token=a6619025-4696-477e-b13e-569b4278c419
Rough Transcript: in washington, president trump is holding a white house summit on the opioid crisis. he declared it a public health emergency last fall. today at the summit, president tr trump said he wants the death penalty for people convicted of dealing drugs. he asked about suing pharmaceutical companies.

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Fox 5 News at 5

Mar 1, 2018 | New York, NY

By WNYW (Fox)

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33165864?token=a6619025-4696-477e-b13e-569b4278c419
Rough Transcript: the white house hosting summit and the two hour discussion was attended by cabinet members including jeff sessions and president trump made a surprise appearance saying it might be time for the federal government to go after pharmaceutical companies. >> we have to be strong on penalties hopefully we can do some litigation against the opioid companies it is important has a lot of states are doing it but if the states are doing it why isn't the federal government? spee17 the president declare that opioid crisis a health emergency.

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CBS 2 News at 5PM

Mar 1, 2018 | New York, NY

By WCBS (CBS)

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33165865?token=a6619025-4696-477e-b13e-569b4278c419
Rough Transcript: reporter: he also presided over a summit on opioids and said the administration is going to be rolling out policy over the next few weeks and it will be strong. >> hopefully, we can do some litigation against the opioid companies. i think it's very important because a lot of states are doing it. but i keep saying if states are doing it, why isn't the federal government doing it?

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News 4 NY at 4:30

Mar 1, 2018 | New York, NY

By WNBC (NBC)

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33165866?token=a6619025-4696-477e-b13e-569b4278c419
Rough Transcript: the nationwide state of addiction took center stage at the white house today. president trump hosting an opioid summit this afternoon to outline his plans to fight the crisis. the president is directing attorney general jeff sessions to take the fight directly to the drug companies. he says to truly stop the problem the country needs to get tougher on drug dealers. >> they kill hundreds and hundreds of people and most of them don't go to jail. if you shoot one person they give you life. they give you the death penalty. these people can kill 2,000 people and nothing happens to them. >> the president says to expect more opioid policies rolled out over the next several weeks. >>> and closer to home officials taking a similar tone at a news conference. leaders saying they have been using mapping technology to tackle the problem. they call it the od hot spot. that is what led them to the station the technology being paired with law enforcement. officials stressing they aren't trying to arrest their way out of the opioid crisis.

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