Trump declares national emergency on opioid abuse

[Eugene]

Last edited Thu Aug 10, 2017, 04:18 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: Reuters

#POLITICS AUGUST 10, 2017 / 3:05 PM / 30 MINUTES AGO

James Oliphant
2 MIN READ

BEDMINSTER, N.J. (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday declared the opioid epidemic a national emergency and said his administration was drafting papers to make it official.

"The opioid crisis is an emergency and I'm saying officially right now it is an emergency," Trump told reporters in New Jersey. "We're going to draw it up and we're going to make it a national emergency. It is a serious problem, the likes of which we have never had."

Trump spoke about a week after a White House commission on the opioid crisis led by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recommended the president declare it a national emergency.

The declaration could help unlock more support and resources to address the drug overdose epidemic, such as additional funding and expanded access to various forms of treatment, and it gives the government more flexibility in waiving rules and restrictions to expedite action.

-snip-


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-opioid-idUSKBN1AQ2AW

---

EDIT: article updated at link

[hatrack]

1. So, whatcha gonna do, Fatboy - deploy "Fire And Fury"?

Oh, wait, they were on "American Gladiators" - my bad!

[FrodosNewPet]

57. American Gladiators Fire and Fury Respond to Donald Trump and North Korea

American Gladiators Fire and Fury Respond to Donald Trump and North Korea

http://www.funnyordie.com/articles/4379a11f70/american-gladiators-fire-and-fury-respond-to-donald-trump-and-north-korea

In another dramatic public statement, Donald Trump threatened North Korea with “Fire and Fury.” But now Fire and Fury are speaking for themselves:

http://r.fod4.com/s=w450,pd1/o=80/

“Mr. President, it’s about damn time.

Fire reporting for duty, sir. My pugil stick is ready and at your command. She’s hungry, and she’s in the mood for North Korean. I have trained for this my entire life. This American Gladiator puts the American first. When do we Swingshot in? Just give me the word. Because if you want scorched earth, all you need is Fire…

"

http://r.fod4.com/s=w450,pd1/o=80/

“Hey Kim Jong Un,

You heard the president. I can’t wait to stuff you into a small cylinder like the soft, oversized Nerf ball you are. I don’t care how many troops you have marching in your streets. I’ll bowl through and crush all of them in my Atlasphere without breaking a sweat. And then I’ll roll right onto your nuclear facilities until they smoke like scoring pods.

Hell hath no Fury like the one about to kick your ass.“

[msongs]

2. legalize the stuff. no more billions on crooked justice system, just treatment/prevention nt

[TheFrenchRazor]

23. word. nt

[Voltaire2]

36. Plus everyone would stop od'ing on fentanyl

and other highly potent opiods that are now routinely found in what is being sold as heroin.

[Angry Dragon]

3. that is not what he said yesterday

[bucolic_frolic]

4. Donnie do you remember the 70s?

if you do, you weren't there.

[sandensea]

34. Ah yes. His 'personal Vietnam'.

He must remember all the Zithromax, surely.

[AJT]

5. So, "the likes of which" is his new go-to phrase.

[MindPilot]

11. "the likes of which..." Beat me to it!

But it appears that there may be a pending drop in the for-profit prison population so we need a new reason to put folks in jail.

So who will it be? The physicians who over-prescribed the meds, the big pharma companies who encouraged them to do so, or the patients who followed their doctor's instructions?

I think we all know the answer.

[AJT]

13. Amazingly the pharmaceutical industry knew just where to hock their wares...

in the most depressed, hopeless areas of the country.

[haele]

30. Self medication is far more expensive - and profitable, than prescribed medication...

1) Target an area full of naïve "disposables" that are no longer necessary in a modern economy and further depress the area instead of re-evaluating where the area's economic growth could be sustained and investing in growth potential. (cough - i.e., alternative energy, educational recreation, and infrastructure maintenance instead of resource mining, heavy manufacturing, or unsustainable subsistence agriculture...)
2) Addict the disposables to a dangerous palliative as they search for something that eases pain or emotional distress. Take that palliative away, along with any subsidies that help support them.
3) Then mouth platitudes on "Moral Hazards", look the other way as criminal organizations suck any money or personal belongings that are worth anything from them and walk away arm and arm with those organizations, leaving the disposables to die off or become so desperate they'll do anything to survive.
4) Take whatever of their property is left, sell it off to cronies for campaign support, and go on to the next target.

There's a good 50 million workers who have been made redundant through technology and modern "production strategies". They're disposable in the eyes of big business and investors. And they're targets for the economic vampires who understand that there's very little social "value" to protect individuals when everyone is a commodity with a price tag attached to them.

They're "Value Meals" to predatory capitalism. Which includes pharmaceutical investors. Get rid of a couple thousand here or there over a year is no problem; their "religion" can be depended on to keep them ignorant and breeding - just like any other commodity.

Haele

[Chemisse]

32. Exactly. He plans to fill those prisons!

Perhaps every user who requires Narcan will be arrested and imprisoned. That would be just his style.

[underpants]

15. Just beat me to it.

[forgotmylogin]

24. He's got the "say things twelve times to make them sound important" thing down.

"First thou pullest the Holy Pin. Then thou must count to three. Three shall be the number of the counting and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither shalt thou count two, excepting that thou then proceedeth to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the number of the counting, be reached, then lobbest thou the Holy Hand Grenade in the direction of thine foe, who, being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it. The fire and fury shall ensue, and power also, the likes of which shan'n't ever have been seen, and that includes power, which goes along with that fire and fury. Down it will ensue..."

[C_U_L8R]

6. Some quote

I thought it was a joke. What a pea brain.

[Tanuki]

7. So is he going to attack opioid abuse with fire and furry,

the likes of which the world has never seen?

[Coventina]

8. I heard on our local NPR station that one mandate is going to be

7 day maximum prescriptions for opioids.

Those who depend on them for chronic pain will either:

1. have their quality of life go way down
2. turn to the illicit drug trade
3. kill themselves


Thanks for making those of us who suffer from chronic pain suffer even more.

[TheFrenchRazor]

25. you are absolutely correct; i could scream every time i hear about the "opioid crisis." nt

[CountAllVotes]

42. same here

I told my health care provider that it would be like putting a gun to my head if they pulled my script.

They get it.

Luckily.

[mr_lebowski]

48. The 'cool' i.e. understanding doctors will likely up the dosages for the patients they trust ...

That way, while they're technically getting '1 weeks worth', they'll only actually have to go back to the doc to get more every 14-20 days (or whatever) because their dosage was upped.

The saviors might end up being the insurance co's paying for these meds ... they will likely have a FIT about how much more it'll cost them when all their pain patients need $100-$200 appt's EVERY WEEK (because refills for opioids w/o a doc visit are already dis-allowed AFAIK) when that charge used to be incurred once a month. You're talking probably hundred of million$/year in increased fees to doctors (and costs to insurers) with a move like that.

[CountAllVotes]

50. Community Health Clinic

They already have their very strict set of rules. If you do not comply exactly, they dump you quickly.

The first thing they do to you when you arrive is hand you ye old cup.

This is so f'ng humiliating.

I've been living in chronic intractable pain since 1984 -- 33 long years of it.

I've had to fight and fight to get any help at all with the pain. There is nothing much they can do for me and they know this already.

I am really upset by this news and I rather doubt that Medicare would go for this see a doctor once a week to get an RX filled!

[TheFrenchRazor]

52. i hear you; way i see it, if the gov't prevents me from obtaining medicine that i need to be able

to function and support myself and survive, then they can pay all my bills for the rest of my life, and i'll just sit on the couch and watch tv all day. otherwise, they can stay the f*ck out of my life and my pain relief.

[CountAllVotes]

54. Exactly

The medication I receive enables me to do things I cannot otherwise do because of the pain.

The list is long but starts with simple things like:

Getting out of bed
Driving and going to the store
Living life one day at a time & doing the best I can

I'm not sure I'd care to live one day at a time with no medications for the pain I live in. It is well-documented and I was told just last week that I was not addicted as I have been very cautious with these medications.

Sure cannabis helps to a point but when you are talking about problems like peripheral neuropathy, nothing much can touch this pain except for opiates. Even opiates don't make it go away, they just make it livable. I live at a #5 pain level at all times with medication.

That is all I want, a life I can live without horrific pain constantly. I guess that is too much to ask for in tRumps "Lets Make America Great Again" AmeriKKKa, an AmeriKKKa I never knew until the likes of this fraud came along. Drug test him why don't they? THAT IS WHAT I'D LIKE TO KNOW & oh yeah, WTH are his TAX RETURNS??

[mr_lebowski]

56. You can be not 'addicted' ... but still very much be physically dependent ... and that's not even

talking about the actual real-life pain-related 'need' that caused you to have to start taking them to begin with.

EVERYONE who's taken opioids for any extended period, even w/o abusing them in any way, has a physical dependency. There's absolutely no avoiding that, and there's no shame in it. It happens, to everyone ... period.

The body simply adapts to their presence (as it does with SO MANY other drugs ... anti-depressants being another prime example) and when you take them away, severe discomfort follows. That's 'physical dependence'. Doesn't make you an 'addict' ... but some treat it as such, and that's BS, man.

I can't even imagine someone with legitimate chronic intractable pain to begin with ... having to go through opioid withdrawals on top of it ... that is cruelty beyond imagination.

May cooler heads prevail, and you never have to suffer through that ...

[CountAllVotes]

58. I do not know what I will do

If they cut me off, I will likely die as I cannot sleep without medications as the pain is so severe. I cannot sleep on my left side at all and frequently wake during the night with a paralyzed foot/leg and wow does it ever hurt. You cannot put weight on or walk on that leg/foot. I often awaken with paralyzed hands/arms as well and it too is incredibly painful. Throw in a form of recurring shingles and bingo, you almost have me!

There are times I have this everywhere, including my ears and scalp.

Peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage in my case) is a living hell. Throw in a few more pain causing problems and wowzie.

I seriously hope I do not last long if they cut me off.

The only option is to start drinking ... I'd really rather not start having to hit the bottle to kill the pain!

What a stupid damn option!

[TheFrenchRazor]

60. i feel you; i can't really even drink because it makes me ill, but i have tried, unfortunately. nt

[TheFrenchRazor]

59. "physical dependency" vs a lifetime of 24/7 physical pain; shouldn't really be a difficult choice.

i'm dependent on food, water, and air, and it doesn't bother me a bit. non-stop significant pain bothers me.

[CountAllVotes]

62. +1

Some never get it as they have never experienced this horrific reality.

The question remains however ... what can be done abt. this?

I hate thinking abt. it frankly.

[FloridaBlues]

29. Not a realistic mandate Hope they re think that one

[CountAllVotes]

43. They will have massive #'s of deaths

If they do this, the withdrawals will kill you.

No kidding.

How many deaths with this pig of a man have on his hands because of this?

[FloridaBlues]

44. You just can't treat legit pain management like that

[CountAllVotes]

45. I hate thinking what they will do to me

The person I was going to for care left town permanently.

She gave me several refills on a lot of the medications I take as I wait to be "reassigned".

As of now I have no provider and the cost is abt. $1400.00+ a month to be treated like a piece of garbage.

They don't like this situation. Neither do I.

Just trying to stay out of a w/c is all.

SAD! Uh huh ...

[mr_lebowski]

49. Withdrawals themselves are rarely fatal unless the patient is very compromised health-wise already

Though you sure as fuck WISH you'd die for about 7-30 days depending on dosage and length of time on them.

More people kill themselves because of the pain of WD's ... than actually die directly FROM the WD's.

Medicine seriously needs to come up with a medication to significantly reduce the horrific effects of WD's ... without being actual opioids. Something to kick-start the natural endorphin production and cut down on the adrenal over-production that comes during WD's.

A regimen of Clonidine, Gapapentin, Flexeril or Methacarbamol, and Ambien (just at night, for sleep) is reasonably helpful ... but only does 'so much'. It'll get a strong person through a not-too-bad case of WD's (long as they don't have to go to work), put it like that.

[yallerdawg]

9. "The LSD."

Trump always manages to find a way to prove his stupidity and lack of any kind of historical awareness and coherency.

Listening to him speak hurts.

[Floyd R. Turbo]

10. The greater emergency is the

dope in the White House!

[BamaRefugee]

12. "the likes of which we have never had, we have never seen, we have never imagined blah blah blah"

just shut up.
I'm 65 years old, I've been around the world a few times and I've seen it all.

[CountAllVotes]

46. It is such b.s.

I agree. I'm close to your age and it sure gets old.

From the LSD KILLS threats of the 1960s to this new "realization" which is NOT the doctor's fault, they did not know is the excuse.

In the meantime those of us that are legitimate chronic pain patients suffer and worry. NOT GOOD!

[MineralMan]

14. Emergency! Emergency! Everybody to get from street!

What's he going to do? Arrest everyone with a prescription for a pain reliever?

[llmart]

35. That will be a whole lot of senior citizens...

What about the pets? My dog is on opioids. Will they put her in doggie prison? Or me for giving them to her?

[syringis]

16. The real...

... emergency is to cure as quick as possible, the cartloads of hog manure being discharged in the WH since january...

[LisaM]

17. He's going to draw it up and make it a national emergency?

That sounds encouraging.

[NCjack]

19. Trucks with PA systems blaring the message "just say no!" nt

[Tracer]

18. Seems to me that one problem is overproduction of opiods.

I have heard statistics that there is a 3 week supply of opioids for EVERY. SINGLE. AMERICAN.

Don't know how to stop pharmaceutical companies from overproducing.

[underpants]

20. I thought he wanted to get re-elected

[eleny]

21. Sounds like a response to the blowback

Next he'll say he was only kidding the other day.

[onetexan]

22. We've had a sustained national emergency since this crazy POTUS was elected

wish the idiots in Washington would declare that an emergency

[TheFrenchRazor]

26. yay!!! more War On Drugs!!!!! not. nt

[atreides1]

27. Arrest everyone

His solution, which was provided to him by the Keebler elf, will be to arrest any opioid abusers and send them to one of the many private prisons that currently have empty beds...where Sessions can get something for his investment!

And because Jeff has called for harsher sentences, people will be locked up for years, allowing Jeff's stock portfolio to grow!!

[truthisfreedom]

28. I'm glad I've always hated painkillers.

Man, what a mess this guy is. Yesterday he was saying he was going to use a law enforcement approach. Today that just disappears. Nutter.

[riversedge]

31. And 2 days ago, his plan was to just say NO. My guess is he has no plan and is going to take

his staff by surprise. This is serious stuff. It is a public health problem and bet he will just call in Sessions and his goons.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

33. Is there such a thing in the United States as a "national emergency"?

Beats me. Let's go to the legal experts:

State of Emergency, United States

United States

Further information: Senate Report 93-549, Insurrection Act, and National Emergencies Act

The Constitution explicitly provides some emergency powers:

Congress may authorize the government to call forth the militia to execute the laws, suppress an insurrection or repel an invasion.
Congress may authorize the government to suspend consideration of writs of habeas corpus "when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it."
Felony charges may be brought without presentment or grand jury indictment in cases arising "in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger."
A state government may engage in war without Congress's approval if "actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay."

Aside from these, many provisions of law exist in various jurisdictions, which take effect only upon an executive declaration of emergency. The National Emergencies Act regulates this process at the federal level. It requires the President to specifically identify the provisions activated and to renew the declaration annually so as to prevent an arbitrarily broad or open-ended emergency. In all such cases, the government must continue to act within the limits of the law and constitution.

A state governor or local mayor may declare a state of emergency within his or her jurisdiction. This is common at the state level in response to natural disasters. The Federal Emergency Management Agency maintains a system of assets, personnel and training to respond to such incidents. For example, on December 10, 2015, Washington state Governor Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency due to flooding and landslides caused by heavy rains.

The 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act allows the government to freeze assets, limit trade and confiscate property in response to an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to the United States that originates substantially outside of it. As of 2015 more than twenty emergencies under the IEEPA remain active regarding various subjects, the oldest of which was declared in 1979 with regard to the government of Iran. Another ongoing national emergency, declared after the September 11 attacks, authorizes the president to retain or reactivate military personnel beyond their normal term of service.

National Emergencies Act

The National Emergencies Act (Pub.L. 94–412, 90 Stat. 1255, enacted September 14, 1976, codified at 50 U.S.C. § 1601-1651) is a United States federal law passed to stop open-ended states of national emergency and formalize the power of Congress to provide certain checks and balances on the emergency powers of the President. The Act of Congress imposes certain procedural formalities on the President when invoking such powers. The perceived need for the law arose from the scope and number of laws granting special powers to the executive in times of national emergency.

The H.R. 3884 legislation was passed by the United States 94th Congressional session and signed by the 38th President of the United States Gerald R. Ford on September 14, 1976.

[Blue_Tires]

37. "Treatment"?

If the opioid crisis was in the black community, the "solution" would be more cops and more prisons....

[SkatmanRoth]

38. We need to declare a Constitutional crisis because we have an illegitimate President

[lark]

39. Emergency, emergency, means what exactly to him?

Anyone can run around being chicken little, but what is his plan to combat this emergency? There is zero, I can just about guarantee it. Mandatory drug treatment instead of incarceration - nope, he wants to put millions of Americans in jail so he and Sessions get richer - free treatment for those that can't afford it, which would be most - nope, he's not interested in that either. He has no plans and no ideas and doesn't give a shit at all. He's just playing to his addicted base and once again is screwing them badly while pretending to help. If he wants anything at all, you can bet it's increased incarceration. He also might make a rule that drug addiction can't be covered by insurance to hurt these sad folks even more.

He is the most disgusting man in the world and makes me want to vomit every time I hear his whiney ass weak voice. He's so bad he makes GW look human and sane.

[not fooled]

40. Well, gee

If he gets off stirring up sh*t over an "opiod crisis" maybe he'll forget about starting a nuclear armageddon.

[concreteblue]

41. I was run over by a semi....

I was hit by a semi and trailer in 1996. The driver ran a red light and I went under the trailer. I have been a chronic pain sufferer, and pain clinic patient, for years. I can see absolutely no good that will come from this. They will funnel a bunch of $$ to their cronies for do nothing "solutions", get between doctors and patients, make it harder for chronic pain sufferers (who already get treated like criminals) to obtain the medications they are ALREADY being prescribed, declare "Victory" and move on.
The Dems are no better on this particular issue, at least here in KY.

[Grammy23]

47. I have a friend who has had several surgeries for her back.

The first procedure was "a fail" so she allowed another surgeon to try to fix it. One of the bone grafts failed to take so it, too, was not successful. After all of that she found out (too late) that repairing what went wrong in her first surgery seldom works and 80% of the time you end up worse. So now, she has trouble walking, uses a cane most of the time and relies on a walker for longer walking trips, like shopping. When traveling by plane she must have wheel chair service. If not for her opioid pain meds, she could not function. If they take the pain meds away, I just hope she can get her hands on some marijuana. I know she would not be opposed to that snd has been known to resort to that between prescriptions. Luckily, she has an adult granddaughter who can help her out---until they decide to crack down on that, too.

These people who want to deal harshly with the people who use opioid pain meds better hope they are never faced with unrelenting pain without anything to help relieve the pain. Then again, maybe that is exactly what they deserve.

[CountAllVotes]

51. Isn't that the truth

Lets hope what goes around comes around.

They are fortunate not to know what it is like to live in chronic intractable pain.

It is a real bitch, that is all I can say.

It interferes with all aspects of your life from the time you *attempt* to get up until you go to bed. How many nights do you get a good nights sleep? NONE tends to be the rule.

[TheFrenchRazor]

53. i am seriously thinking of moving to colorado, just in case my pain situation gets bad enough,

and the only thing i could get for it without massive hassles would be pot. actually haven't smoked it since i was a teenager, and i don't really have any desire to, butat a certain point, it may be the best/only thing i can get to help me survive.

[CountAllVotes]

55. Best of luck to you

Can you afford to live in California? Not all parts of the state are outrageously expensive to live in -- like the pacific northwest not too far from the Oregon border.

Cannabis is legal in Oregon and will be legal in February of 2018.

Hang-in there and do what you must!

[TheFrenchRazor]

61. thanks; yeah, cali would be nice, but would have to be really cheap, and as you said, pot probably

wouldn't help that much with certain kinds of pain. i live in SD though, so i think Co or CA would probably be an improvement in a lot of health care necessities.