Trump continues to fight opioids "until our job is done"

President Donald Trump pledged on Wednesday to fight the deadly epidemic of opioid drug abuse "until our job is done," and he said progress was being made. realized even though it was difficult to determine if the crisis had diminished.

Trump spoke at an annual conference bringing together health officials, law enforcement officials, elected officials and other officials in the fight against drug addiction and addiction. will help keep drugs out of the United States. His wife, Melania, introduced him.

"My administration is deploying all the resources at our disposal to empower you, support you and fight alongside you," Trump said. "We will not solve this epidemic overnight, but we will stop. (…) Nothing will stop us, no matter how you reduced it."

Before leaving the White House to go to Atlanta, Trump had claimed the progress made in the fight against the scourge of drugs.

"It's a big problem – it's a big addiction and we're dealing with it," the president told reporters. He added that doctors, laboratories, clinics and pharmaceutical companies had helped the administration.

Progress has been reported, including a reduction in the prescription of opioid analgesics. However, opioid abuse has had a toll of nearly 48,000 American lives in 2017. An estimated 2 million addicts include both prescription painkillers and illicit drugs. as heroin.

While prescription opioids were at the root of most deaths, the epidemic is now caused by heroin and fentanyl illicit. According to federal statistics, these two drugs were involved in the vast majority of opioid overdoses reported in 2017.

Keith Humphreys, a drug advisor to the presidents of both political parties, said that some states and communities are making progress, but not as a result of Trump's actions. Humphreys said that other states have regressed.

Humphreys said that Trump's statement on opioid addiction as a public health emergency in 2017 had not resulted in any meaningful concrete action. The members of Congress, he said, "understood that they were going to have to do it themselves – and they did it".

Trump said the government has committed $ 6 billion to fight the crisis, set aside funds to prevent youth addiction, and increase the distribution of naloxone, an overdose drug.

"Really incredible things," the president pointed out.

A range of government agencies is currently undertaking efforts to reduce the use of opioids. Trump said states are now allowed to use Medicaid dollars to fund residential treatment facilities, expanding access to care. He added that the Department of Veterans Affairs had significantly reduced the number of veterans treated with opioids.

Trump also discussed law enforcement efforts, including the closure of criminal drug sales networks online and more aggressive efforts to seize illegal drugs and prevent immigrants from entering the country. without authorization.

He said that nearly 400 miles of wall will be in place along the border with Mexico by the end of 2020 and that this "will have a huge impact on the drugs entering our country".

Trump's statement contradicts a report released in 2018 by the US Drug Enforcement Administration, which cited common methods of drug smuggling that would not be smothered by a border wall; The most common trafficking technique is to hide drugs in passenger vehicles or semi-trailers as they travel to the United States at official crossings.

The first lady briefly talked about her visits to hospitals and treatment centers and her meetings with doctors and nurses as part of her own campaign to highlight the "terrible toll of the epidemic". opioids on children and young mothers ".

"My husband is here today because he cares deeply about what you are doing to help the millions of Americans affected by the opioid epidemic," he said. she said.

It is difficult to obtain complete and authoritative accounting of the amount spent by the federal government in the fight against opioid addiction, since it concerns many programs, including Medicaid, which does not require annual approval. Congressional funding and dozens of others. Public health experts say the amount is probably not enough.

The vast opioid legislation that Trump signed last fall has defined many steps to improve care and access to treatment. For example, it allowed nurse practitioners to prescribe drugs for the treatment of drug addiction, increased incentives for people to undergo addiction training, and allowed Medicare to cover the use of methadone for opioid addiction.

Humphreys, who worked with lawmakers on the measure, said the parties were not agreeing on the fundamental question of how much money should be spent on the problem. So they've put together a few small improvements that they could agree on.

"And that's all good," Humphreys said. "But it's not transformative."

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Superville reported from Washington. AP Health Editor Matthew Perrone in Washington contributed to this report.

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