Trump declares opioids 'public health emergency,'; Commissioner Wen urges stronger action (Baltimore Business Journal)

Monday Oct 30th, 2017

The Trump Administration declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency on Thursday. But Baltimore's Health Commissioner said that's not enough.

Dr. Leana Wen said she supports the president in his declaration of the opioid epidemic as an emergency, after promising for months to make moves on this front. But the specific designation of "public health emergency" presents a problem.

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To much fanfare last year, President Donald Trump ordered his administration to declare a public health emergency over the opioid epidemic. “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.”

When I’ve asked experts about these approaches, it’s not that any of them are bad. It’s that they fall short. For instance, Leana Wen, the former health commissioner of Baltimore (and soon-to-be president of Planned Parenthood), said that the Support for Patients and Communities Act “is simply tinkering around the edges.”

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