US President Donald Trump on Thursday declared the opioid crisis “a national public health emergency” in the country.
In an address at the White House, Trump said the growing epidemic spares “no part” of the country, promising his administration will spend “lots of money” to find non-addictive painkiller, Xinhua news agency reported.
“This epidemic is a national health emergency,” he said, adding, “Nobody has seen anything like what is going on now.”
“Addressing it will require all of our effort, and it will require us to confront the crisis in all of its real complexity,” the President said.
Trump said the opioid use has affected more than two million Americans nationwide and the number continues to rise.
“No state has been spared, and no demographic has been untouched,” he said.
With Trump’s declaration, the US federal government will waive some regulations, give states more flexibility in how they use federal funds and expand the use of telemedicine treatment.
The emergency will last 90 days but can be repeatedly renewed.
The last time that a national public health emergency of this scope was called in the US was in 2009 in response to the H1N1 influenza virus.