Can President Trump solve the opioid epidemic?
Published: Oct 20, 2017, 11:35 am • Updated: Oct 20, 2017, 11:35 am
By Allison Michaels, The Washington Post
The Washington Post and CBS’s “60 Minutes” teamed up to publish an investigation about the influence that the pharmaceutical industry has had on America’s opioid epidemic.
The story takes a deep look at the way the drug industry and drug distributors first pumped huge numbers of opioids into communities, then worked with members of Congress to pass a law that would weaken the Drug Enforcement Administration. The law, which passed through Congress, makes it much harder for the DEA to stop these addictive drugs from reaching the black market.
The story has raised some questions about what the president can do from here to combat our nation’s opioid crisis. That’s the question we seek to answer this week: Can President Donald Trump solve the opioid epidemic? How much power does the White House have to stop a crisis that kills so many Americans each year?
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On this week’s episode of “Can He Do That?” we talk to Scott Higham about his year-long investigation with Washington Post reporter Lenny Bernstein. And Andrew Kolodny, the co-director of the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative at Brandeis University’s Heller School, shares how to combat this epidemic and what role the White House can play in that process.
Each week, “Can He Do That?” examines the powers and limitations of the American presidency, focusing on one area where President Trump is seemingly breaking precedent. We answer the critical questions about what today’s news means for the future of the highest office in the nation.
Listen to the discussion
Topics: big pharma, DEA, donald trump, opioid epidemic
