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WASHINGTON – Almost a year after then-Gov. Chris Christie's opioid commission disbanded with an admonition to Congress to fund efforts to tackle the crisis, President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed sweeping legislation designed to do just that.
Christie, the chairman of the President's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and Opioid Crisis, was in the White House East Room as Trump Signed the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention That Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act into law.
"Said Trump, who last October declared the opioid crisis to" public health emergency "under the Public Health Services Act, though did not declare a more far-reaching" national emergency "as the Christie commission recommended.
Christie panel issues final report on opioids
Christie's commission went out of business Nov. 1, 2017 after offering 65 recommendations on how to address the opioid crisis. Some of them were in the bill signed by Trump, which combined several separate pieces of legislation into one all-encompassing measure.
The measure strengthens efforts to stop the flow of illegal narcotics such as fentanyl and to cut down on opioid prescriptions in favor of non-addictive painkillers. It also expands the use of medication-assistance treatment for addicts.
Around 63,600 Americans died in 2016 from drug overdoses, including 2,056 New Jerseyans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Today, we've kept our promise to those suffering from addiction and delivered solutions to cities across America," said Rep. Tom MacArthur, R-3rd Dist., Co-chair of the Congressional Bipartisan Heroin Task Force.
The massive bill included $ 10 million in grants for hospitals at St. Joseph's University Medical Center in Paterson, where emergency room physicians try to ease patients' pain in ways that do not involve prescribing opioids.
This will "allow providers across the country to use common pain, while avoiding unnecessary opioids from getting into patients' hands," said Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-9th Dist., Who sponsored the original legislation that passed the House.
U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Robert Menendez, DJ, sponsored the Paterson measure in their chamber.
"Their success in reducing the use of opioids will rightfully be a model for the country," Booker said.
Medicaid funds for drug treatment with more than 16 beds. New Jersey last year received a waiver to allow such treatment.
It also requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to work with the spread of infectious diseases such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C, although it is necessary to use opioids and other drugs.
And the Food and Drug Administration will be reaching out to the US through overseas mail, including through the international bulk mail center in Secaucus.
"It's law – the resources and funding we are counting on to fight opioid addiction are on the way," said Rep. Leonard Lance, R-7th Dist. "We have all seen the struggle in our New Jersey communities, and we have loved one to addiction."
Several companies, including Johnson & Johnson, agreed with the opioid crisis, and their executives joined the measure.
JNJ's representative was Linda Murray, Senior Vice President of Consumer Experience and Global Editor-in-Chief of BabyCenter. The company said it was providing information to nurses and addicts to the problem.
"Substance abuse and addiction are serious public health issues and we are committed to being part of the ongoing dialogue and making our way into this crisis," the New Brunswick-based company said in a statement.
Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., The Democrat on the House of Energy and Commerce Committee, noted that Trump has been signing the bill at the same time and has been seeking redress in the interim. .
"It is disingenuous at best to promise relief to people with opioid addiction while also attempting to cut funding for pre-existing conditions, which include opioid use disorder," said Pallone, D-6th Dist.
Jonathan D. Salant can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
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