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Warren Releases $100 Billion Plan To Combat Opioids Epidemic

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks at a Service Employees International Union forum on labor issues, Saturday, April 27, 2019, in Las Vegas. (John Locher/AP)
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks at a Service Employees International Union forum on labor issues, Saturday, April 27, 2019, in Las Vegas. (John Locher/AP)

Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has unveiled a new version of her plan to combat America's opioid epidemic, proposing to spend $100 billion over 10 years on battling the public health consequences of addiction.

Warren's new opioids measure is modeled on a 1990 law passed to help fight the spread of AIDS and would be paid for using her proposed tax on the wealthiest American households.

The U.S. senator from Massachusetts released her new plan Wednesday ahead of a campaign trip to Ohio and West Virginia, where she'll visit a town that sued drug companies.

Warren ties the opioid epidemic to the influence of drug companies' "money and power" in America. Drug companies have largely denied that their distribution practices contributed to the nation's rising opioid overdose rate.

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