Sessions Creates Unit To Go After Doctors, Pharmacies Pushing Opioids
The new unit, which Sessions called a "data analytics program," will "identify and prosecute" those who are "contributing to this opioid epidemic."
LEARN MORETrump Promises State Of Emergency On Opioid Crisis
President Trump told reporters he's drafting an emergency declaration to deal with the national opioid overdose epidemic.
Trump Promises State Of Emergency On Opioid Crisis
The White House
August 10, 2017
President Trump is apparently ready to declare the opioid crisis a national state of emergency.
Trump said: "We're going to draw it up, and we're going to make it a national emergency. It is a serious problem, the likes of which we have never had."
Trump's move is in line with what his opioid task force recommended in its first interim report on the crisis.
The declaration could relax some federal rules and give the Trump administration and local governments more flexibility on how they combat the crisis. Some regions have been battling opioids with nontraditional programs, like needle exchanges or equipping police officers with drugs to treat opioid overdoses.
But Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price recently implied the administration wouldn't need to declare an emergency.
Price told the press: "The resources that we need or the focus that we need to bring to bear to the opioid crisis at this point can be addressed without the declaration of an emergency. Although, all things are on the table for the president."
Trump has previously suggested he'd combat the opioid crisis by empowering law enforcement and cracking down on drug use.
5:04
What does it cost to have cancer?
An oncologist and parents of kids with cancer share how the costs of treatment can hinder or even completely prevent a patient from getting care.
By San Francisco Chronicle / AP6:35
Life-saving drugs cost thousands in the US. Can laws change that?
Prescription drugs are often priced higher in the U.S. than in other countries, but there is legislation that aims to cut costs.
By APWHO says COVID remains an emergency but is in transition
The World Health Organization said there is still uncertainty in COVID-19's future, but the virus is at a "transition point."
By ShutterstockTop Stories
3:38
Inside the largest ice fishing tournament in Minnesota
The tournament only lasts one afternoon, but for hundreds of local volunteers it takes all year long to put together.
By Scripps News6:28
Scripps News school AED probe gets attention in Congress
Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick, a Florida Democrat, will lead a bipartisan push for more school AEDs. The NFL & American Heart Association are endorsing.
By Scripps News / Zach Cusson4:36
Why China allegedly sought help from fmr. Marine Daniel Duggan
In a 2017 indictment recently unsealed, U.S. prosecutors accuse Duggan of secretly using his expertise to teach Chinese fighter pilots.
By AP