This has been some Presidency so far, right? This guy Donald Trump has legit attempted to treat running a country as production company would run a reality tv show. Voracious lead character with a loud voice and nothing to say, surrounded by mindless squad of “friends” who seem to be there just for when they say, “action.” Add to that mix, controversy, scandals and lies. Add sex and a videotape and this might be a decent show.
Unfortunately for everyone who lives in the real world, none of this is for tv. So when this guy Donald Trump waffles back and forth on key issues that will affect millions of people, we can’t just sit back and wait till next week to see what will happen next? Nope, we got to live in real-time and in real-time, his Presidency is one full of constant plot twists.
Lets take a look at the most recent twist in the story-line.
Per The Cannabist
Friday, Politico’s Dan Diamond reported that the White House will gut funding for the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the executive branch agency coordinating efforts to fight the opioid epidemic that has swept through rural areas of America over the last few years.
And if you navigate to the Office of National Drug Control Policy website, it’s … not much of a website. The homepage reads: “Check back soon for more information.”
Diamond reports that Trump’s proposed 2018 budget would slash funding for the office by 95 percent, drastically cutting staff and completely eliminating a program that helps communities fight addiction at the local level.
What does that mean for the future of addiction treatment?
There are a few ways the government attempts to fight drug use in the U.S. The most visible way is with law enforcement: Stopping drugs at the border, and arresting and prosecuting dealers and users. But the other side of the addiction fight is a public health approach that focuses on access to treatment facilities, education and support for recovering addicts, and facilities like needle exchanges that lower the transmission of blood-borne diseases.
This isn’t just a flip-flop. This is some absurd s***. Lets start with a man who’s DOJ is adamant about eliminating cannabis from society now has his hands tied even more from doing his job. Like TheCannabist mentioned, Trump has said that he’s “fight to increase access to life-saving treatment,” but with cuts like this, how can his own administration fight their new war on drugs and tackle the opioid issue and allow people who “life-saving treatment.”
This Presidency can’t come to an end quick enough for us over here.