$1 trillion lost annually to opioid abuse nationwide.
Representative David Trone of Maryland and Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, the chairs of the Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking, released a report on Tuesday that shows the cost of the opioid epidemic in the United States to be $1 trillion every year. The 148-page report also documents the faults in current U.S. strategy and recommends a number of tactics to better address the epidemic.
“Since 1999, we’ve lost more than one million Americans to drug overdoses,” the commission stated. “It’s time to come together, from all levels of government and both sides of the aisle, to address this epidemic and put an end to it once and for all.”
The co-chairs said, “This is one of our most-pressing national security, law enforcement, and public health challenges, and we must do more as a nation and a government to protect our most precious resource ― American lives.“
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Representative Trone and Senator Cotton as well as the rest of the commission members as they address the opioid crisis.
- That the efforts of the commission would be successful in reducing drug overdoses.
- For Americans struggling with addiction to turn to the Lord and find freedom and sobriety.
Sources: The Hill, CNN
