The Obama administration is making progress in combating the nation’s drug and alcohol addiction epidemic, but a new report by the U,S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the Obama administration’s approach to the epidemic has been a “failure.”
The report, released Monday, said that while the nation has seen a decrease in drug-related deaths from 2015 to 2016, it still had a significant increase in the number of people living with chronic conditions related to drug use.
The CDC report also noted that the number in the U.,S.
addicted to opioid painkillers has nearly tripled in the past three years.
Despite the increase in addiction, the report found that the country’s efforts to combat addiction are still “not meeting the challenges posed by the opioid crisis.”
In a statement, President Donald Trump’s Office of National Drug Control Policy said the CDC report “should serve as a wake-up call for all Americans that their government has failed us.
The opioid crisis is not just a health crisis, it is a financial crisis, and it threatens our national security.”
Despite these troubling statistics, Trump has continued to press for the expansion of prescription drug coverage, arguing that Americans should be able to obtain the medications they need without any cost.
“If we can’t get the medications that we need, then you’re going to have a lot of pain.
You’re going for the drugs that are easier to get,” Trump said in a July press conference.
“We are not going to be able, as a nation, to treat this.”
Trump also has taken to Twitter to blame the opioid epidemic on Democrats.
On Monday, the president tweeted, “We can’t afford to lose the jobs and income that are dependent on this terrible drug crisis.”
The White House is attempting to shift the focus of its response to addressing the opioid addiction crisis to more than just prescription drug companies.
Trump and the administration have proposed a $3 billion drug program that would expand access to prescription opioids, but the program will likely have a major impact on addiction.
As the opioid industry continues to expand and more Americans begin to seek treatment, the CDC said the country is likely to see more opioid overdoses and deaths.
