Lev Facher

They were bad.

They were bad.

They were bad.

Everyone knew about how pervasive prescription painkillers had become and how in many cases those addictions led people to use illicit drugs like heroin but they weren't nearly as bad as they are today we had something in the range of 40 50 000 people dying of overdoses every year and and now it's roughly double that so hard as it was to imagine in 2016 things were about to get way way worse

Everyone knew about how pervasive prescription painkillers had become and how in many cases those addictions led people to use illicit drugs like heroin but they weren't nearly as bad as they are today we had something in the range of 40 50 000 people dying of overdoses every year and and now it's roughly double that so hard as it was to imagine in 2016 things were about to get way way worse

Everyone knew about how pervasive prescription painkillers had become and how in many cases those addictions led people to use illicit drugs like heroin but they weren't nearly as bad as they are today we had something in the range of 40 50 000 people dying of overdoses every year and and now it's roughly double that so hard as it was to imagine in 2016 things were about to get way way worse

One of the first things Trump did was to impanel a bipartisan commission of elected leaders and subject matter experts to get to the bottom of what was happening and kind of chart a path forward.

One of the first things Trump did was to impanel a bipartisan commission of elected leaders and subject matter experts to get to the bottom of what was happening and kind of chart a path forward.

One of the first things Trump did was to impanel a bipartisan commission of elected leaders and subject matter experts to get to the bottom of what was happening and kind of chart a path forward.

So he had Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey, and Roy Cooper, the governor of North Carolina. He had Bertha Madras, a Harvard expert, and Patrick Kennedy, the former congressman, RFK's cousin.

So he had Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey, and Roy Cooper, the governor of North Carolina. He had Bertha Madras, a Harvard expert, and Patrick Kennedy, the former congressman, RFK's cousin.

So he had Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey, and Roy Cooper, the governor of North Carolina. He had Bertha Madras, a Harvard expert, and Patrick Kennedy, the former congressman, RFK's cousin.

And they put together this document of, I believe it was over 50 recommendations for specific policies that the U.S. should implement. And this was actually really a well-received document.

And they put together this document of, I believe it was over 50 recommendations for specific policies that the U.S. should implement. And this was actually really a well-received document.

And they put together this document of, I believe it was over 50 recommendations for specific policies that the U.S. should implement. And this was actually really a well-received document.

that talked about, sure, a lot of supply-side interventions and preventing drugs from coming into the country in the first place, but also some more active prevention measures in terms of helping people not become addicted and getting them help, access to treatment, and to an extent even harm reduction services once they were using.

that talked about, sure, a lot of supply-side interventions and preventing drugs from coming into the country in the first place, but also some more active prevention measures in terms of helping people not become addicted and getting them help, access to treatment, and to an extent even harm reduction services once they were using.

that talked about, sure, a lot of supply-side interventions and preventing drugs from coming into the country in the first place, but also some more active prevention measures in terms of helping people not become addicted and getting them help, access to treatment, and to an extent even harm reduction services once they were using.

The problem is that very few of these recommendations were fully implemented. Congress did pass a bill in 2018 that put some resources toward this crisis. But again, advocates would tell you that it was nowhere near what it needed to be if Washington was serious about keeping people alive.

The problem is that very few of these recommendations were fully implemented. Congress did pass a bill in 2018 that put some resources toward this crisis. But again, advocates would tell you that it was nowhere near what it needed to be if Washington was serious about keeping people alive.