DRUGS/HHS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump pledged on Wednesday [10-24-18] to put an ‘extremely big dent’ in the scourge of drug addiction in America as he signed legislation intended to help tackle the opioid crisis, the deadliest epidemic of overdoses in the country’s history. Nearly 48,000 people died last year from overdoses involving opioids. Overall, U.S. drug overdose deaths have started to level off, but Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar says it’s too soon to declare victory. The legislation will add treatment options and get the U.S. Postal Service to screen overseas packages for a synthetic form of opioids called fentanyl that are being shipped largely from China. The measure mandates advance electronic data on all international packages, including those delivered by the Postal Service, and set deadlines for the screening to be put into place by the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection and the Postal Service.”
–The Associated Press, “rump Signs Bipartisan Measure to Confront Opioid Crisis,” The New York Times online, October 24, 2018