Trump notes progress in opioid fight
At conference, he says wall will help in effort
ATLANTA — President Donald Trump pledged on Wednesday to battle the deadly epidemic of opioid drug abuse “until our job is done,” and he claimed progress even though it is unclear whether the crisis has diminished.
Trump spoke at an annual conference of health, law enforcement, elected and other officials who work to combat drug abuse and addiction, and used the appearance to advocate for the wall he wants to build on the U.s.-mexico border, saying that it will help keep drugs out of the U.S. His wife, Melania, introduced him.
“My administration is deploying every resource at our disposal to empower you, to support you and to fight right by your side,” President Trump said. “We will not solve this epidemic overnight but we will stop. … There’s just nothing going to stop us, no matter how you cut it.”
Before leaving the White House for the Atlanta event, Trump took credit for progress in combating the drug scourge.
“It’s a big problem. It’s a big addiction and we’re handling it,” the president told reporters. He said doctors, laboratories, clinics and drug companies have assisted the administration.
There have been signs of progress, including a drop in the number of prescriptions for opioid painkillers. However, opioid abuse claimed a record of nearly 48,000 American lives in 2017. An estimated 2 million people are addicted to the drugs, which include both legal prescription pain medications and illegal drugs such as heroin.
Trump also discussed law enforcement efforts, including shutting down online criminal drug-selling networks and more aggressive efforts to seize illegal drugs and stop immigrants from entering the country without authorization.
He said that almost 400 miles of wall will be in place along the border with Mexico by the end of 2020 and that it “will have a tremendous impact on drugs coming into our country.”
The first lady spoke briefly 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 the opioid epidemic is having on children and young mothers.”
“My husband is here today because he cares deeply about what you’re doing to help the millions of Americans affected by the opioid epidemic,” she said.