Trump signs opioid law a year after commission Chris Christie called for action



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WASHINGTON – Almost a year after the government. Chris Christie's opioid commission has dissolved after asking Congress to fund efforts to deal with the crisis, President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a large-scale bill designed for this purpose.

Christie, president of the president's commission on the fight against drug addiction and the opioid crisis, was in the white room clean room while Trump signed the law on the prevention of disorders related to the drug. 39 substance use that promotes the recovery and treatment of opioids (patients and communities) in the law.

"Together we will end the scourge of drug abuse in America," said Trump, who said last October that the opioid crisis is a "public health emergency" within the meaning of the Public Health Services Act. (Public Health Services Act). urgency "as recommended Christie commission.

Christie Panel Releases Final Report on Opioids

The Christie & # 39; s commission ceased operations on November 1, 2017 after making 65 recommendations on how to address the opioid crisis. Some of them were in the Trump bill, which combined several separate laws into one measure.

The measure reinforces efforts to stop the flow of illegal narcotics such as fentanyl and to reduce opioid prescriptions for non-addictive painkillers. It also expands the use of drug treatment treatment for addicts.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 63,600 Americans died in 2016 from an overdose, including 2,056 in New Jersey.

"Today, we have kept our promises to drug addicts and provided real solutions to the cities of America," said Tom MacArthur, District 3, the co-chair of the bipartisan heroin working group. Congress.

The mbadive bill included $ 10 million in hospital grants for a program launched at the St. Joseph University Medical Center in Paterson, where emergency room doctors were trying to relieve patients' pain without as much as prescribe opioids.

This "will allow providers from across the country to use other means to fight common acute pain, while preventing unnecessary opioids from being in the hands of patients," said Representative Bill Pascrell Jr., D-9th Dist., Who sponsored the original legislation pbaded the house.

Americans Cory Booker and Robert Menendez, D-N.J., Sponsored the Paterson Measure in their room.

"Their success in significantly reducing the use of opioids will now be a model for the country," said Booker.

Another provision will allow states to use Medicaid funds for the treatment of drug addiction in institutions with more than 16 beds. Last year, New Jersey received a waiver to allow such treatment.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must also work to stop the spread of infectious diseases such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C through injection needles. opioids and other drugs.

And the Food and Drug Administration will get a new authority and additional funding to prevent synthetic opioids such as heroin and fentanyl from reaching the United States by mail overseas, including through the mail processing center in number to Secaucus.

"That's the law – the resources and funding that our neighbors rely on to fight opioid addiction are on the way," said Rep. Leonard Lance, R-7th Dist. "We have all witnessed the struggle in our New Jersey communities and know too many of our neighbors who have lost loved ones to addiction."

Several companies, including Johnson & Johnson, have agreed to take steps to help solve the opioid crisis. Their leaders joined Trump on stage before the signing of the measure.

The representative of JNJ was Linda Murray, Senior Vice President of Consumer Experience and Global Editor of BabyCenter. The company said it was providing information to nurses and doctors to help them fight against drug addiction and that it was participating in an educational campaign on opioid addiction to reach more than 2.5 million people. people waiting for a child.

"Psychoactive substance abuse and addiction are serious public health problems and we are committed to participating in the ongoing dialogue and doing our part to find ways to deal with this crisis," said the company. based in New Brunswick in a statement.

Representative Frank Pallone Jr., the House's largest Democrat on the Energy and Trade Committee, noted that Trump was signing the bill even as he and congressional Republicans sought to repeal the law on affordable care and took steps to reduce coverage. l & # 39; ai.

"It is at best illusory to promise relief to people with opioid addiction while trying to reduce funding for Medicaid and eliminate the protections available to people with pre-existing conditions, including a condition disorder. 39; opioid use, "said Pallone, D-6th Dist.

Jonathan D. Salant can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

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