What A National 'Public Health Emergency' Means For The Opioid Crisis In Massachusetts

President Trump has declared the nation's opioid epidemic a public health emergency.

The limited 90-day declaration would allow for changes to certain laws and regulations. It will also provide for some grant money to address the public health crisis that kills tens of thousands of people in the U.S. every year.

"As Americans, we cannot allow this to continue," Trump said at the White House. "It is time to liberate our communities from this scourge of drug addiction. We can be the generation that ends the opioid epidemic."

But some say the declaration does not go far enough and it will not provide enough of the necessary funds to address the crisis.

Martha Bebinger, WBUR reporter. She tweets @mbebinger.

Ray Tomasi, president of Gosnold on Cape Cod, which tweets @gosnoldcapecod.

John Rosenthal, co-founder of the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative. He tweets @johnrosenthal.

Sen. Ed Markey, Massachusetts U.S. senator. He tweets @SenMarkey.