Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Aims To Cut Prescriptions By A Third In New Opioid Plan, But Call For Death Penalty Nabbing Most Attention
The Associated Press: Trump Opioid Plan Includes Death Penalty For Traffickers
President Donald Trump’s plan to combat opioid drug addiction nationwide calls for stiffer penalties for drug traffickers, including the death penalty where appropriate under current law. That from a top administration official. It’s a fate for drug dealers that Trump, who aims to be seen as tough on crime, has been highlighting publicly in recent weeks. (Superville, 3/19)
The Washington Post: Trump Administration To Seek Stiffer Penalties Against Drug Dealers, Reduce Opioid Prescribing
Administration officials said Sunday that the measures are part of a three-pronged approach to fighting the opioid epidemic, which killed tens of thousands of people in 2016. The White House said it aims to reduce the demand for opioids by slowing overprescribing, cutting off the supply of illicit drugs and helping those who are addicted. “The opioid crisis is viewed by us at the White House as a nonpartisan problem searching for a bipartisan solution,” White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said. (Zezima, 3/18)
The Wall Street Journal: Trump’s Opioid Battle Plan Includes Seeking More Death-Penalty Prosecutions
Other elements of the strategy, the White House said, would include a fresh public-awareness campaign about drug abuse, a research-and-development partnership between the National Institutes of Health and pharmaceutical companies into opioid prescription alternatives, tougher sentences for fentanyl traffickers, and screening of all prison inmates for opioid addiction. But it is the death penalty proposal that is likely to dominate discussion of the package. (Radnofsky, 3/18)
Politico: White House Tweaks Plan To Seek Death Penalty As Part Of Opioid Response
“The Department of Justice will seek the death penalty against drug traffickers when appropriate under current law,” said Andrew Bremberg, the White House’s director of the Domestic Policy Council. White House officials referred follow-up questions to DOJ. An earlier version of the plan, obtained by POLITICO last week, would have called for the death penalty in some cases involving drug dealers, too. (Diamond, 3/18)
New Hampshire Union Leader: Trump Opioid Plan Includes Death Penalty For Drug Dealers 'Where It's Appropriate'
The Trump administration wants to cut opioid prescriptions by one-third within three years. Its “Safer Prescribing Plan” would offer states incentives to take part in a national database monitoring opioid prescriptions. Such a program, officials said, would highlight individuals requesting many prescriptions. (Feely, 3/18)
The Hill: Trump To Release Opioid Epidemic Plan On Monday That Includes Death Penalty
Trump will also call on Congress to pass legislation reducing the threshold amount of drugs sold that are required to invoke mandatory minimum sentences for drug traffickers “who knowingly distribute certain illicit opioids that are lethal in trace amounts.” The president will also urge Congress to change a decades-old rule that greatly restricts Medicaid from fund residential treatment in certain facilities for those with an opioid addiction, a move that could cost billions of dollars. (Roubein, 3/18)
Boston Globe: In Visit To N.H., Trump To Announce Opioid Plan Including Death Penalty
Trump is making the announcement during an afternoon event at Manchester Community College, returning for the first time as president to the state that delivered him his first big primary win and set him on his improbable pathway to the presidency. He often highlighted the opioid epidemic during his campaign there, expressing shock that a state with such beautiful scenery could be ravaged by a scourge of tragic drug-related death. “More than any place, this state, I’ve never seen anything like it with what’s happening with the drugs, more so than in other places, and other places are a disaster,” Trump said in September 2016. “But we’re going to turn it around for New Hampshire.” (Viser, 3/19)
