The ‘Scourge’ Of Opioid Addiction, And President Trump’s Plan To Fix It

With Kimberly Atkins

The death penalty for drug dealers and more funding for prevention are both parts of an opioid crisis plan President Trump unveiled in New Hampshire Monday. We'll look at the details, and constitutionality, of the plan.

Guests:

Tym Rourke, director of New Hampshire Tomorrow with the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. (@TymRourke)

Bertha Madras, member of President Trump's since-disbanded Commission on Combating Drug Addition, psychobiologist at McLean Hospital and professor at Harvard Medical School. (@madras_bertha)

Helen Jones-Kelley, executive director of Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services for Montgomery County, Ohio. (@helenjoneskell2)

Douglas Berman, professor at Ohio State's Moritz College of Law.

Marah Stith McLeod, associate professor at the University of Notre Dame Law School.

From The Reading List: 

TIME: President Trump Is Officially Proposing That We Give Drug Traffickers the Death Penalty — "President Donald Trump announced a new plan on Monday to combat the opioid crisis that includes sentencing some drug traffickers to the death penalty when appropriate under current law. During an afternoon speech in New Hampshire, in which he also placed some blame for the opioid crisis on immigrants, the president praised countries that “don’t play games” on drugs and called for changes. “We have to change the laws,” he said."

CNN: Trump's Opioid Plan To Take Three-Pronged Approach — "Trump's long-awaited plan will focus on three areas: Law enforcement and interdiction, prevention and education through a sizable advertising campaign, improving the ability to fund treatment through the federal government, and help those impacted by the epidemic find jobs while fighting addiction, Bremberg and White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said."

President Trump says he has a get-tough plan to combat the opioid addiction epidemic – and it includes imposing the death penalty for drug traffickers. Trump promoted his anti-drug plan in New Hampshire, a state noted not only by its political influence but also its serious opioid crisis. But what really are the causes of this persistent scourge, and what can the president and his commission on drug and opioid addiction do to solve it?

This hour, On Point: President Trump’s new war on drugs, and its penalties.

--Kimberly Atkins