Chris Christie Working With Trump To Fight Opioid Addiction
Chris Christie is working with Trump to fight opioid addiction. According to Fox News, the New Jersey governor has been named by President Trump to lead the presidential task force on the opioid and drug issue.
Although Gov. Christie had an unsuccessful run in his attempts to become the president of the United States, he has started to put his effort towards fighting the drug addiction crisis with the new president himself.
Gov. Christie has shared plenty of personal experiences in regard to drug addiction. He has shared his stories with news shows and is seeking a new approach to end the drug epidemic with different treatment plans and such.
Trump felt very good about his decision to make Gov. Christie the leader of the American Innovation, AOL News reports.
“As a former leader in the private sector, I am proud to officially announce the White House Office of American Innovation, which will develop innovative solutions to many problems our country faces. One of the primary reasons I ran for president was the need for new thinking and real change.”
Christie told reporters that the idea behind the drug addiction approach is to help out the Center for Disease Control, which he claims “need the help, and this White House is going to step up to help them.”
The president’s son-in-law and White House aide Jared Kushner will be assisting Christie in the supervision of American Innovation.
A large portion of Christie’s presidential campaign dealt with the control of the major drug epidemic. In a video that showed Christie at a town hall meeting, he described the death of one of his friends from law school, who died as the result of drugs. It was a very emotional time for Gov. Christie, but it gave him even more motivation to do something about the major drug crisis.
“When I sat there as the governor of New Jersey at his funeral, and looked across the pew at his three daughters, sobbing because their dad is gone — there but before the grace of God go I. It can happen to anyone. And so we need to start treating people in this country.”
A couple of months ago, Gov. Christie debuted in a television commercial to promote drug addiction treatment, New Jersey revealed. As the leader of the campaign, he highlighted new drug treatments in the New Jersey area. Following the commercial, a phone number is revealed, as well as a website for people to turn to if they need help with their addiction. The hotline’s phone number is 1-844-REACH-NJ, and the website is www.reachnj.gov.
Christie stated that he wants people to know that there are resources to help them with their drug addiction. Christie can be seen speaking at the statehouse office in the 30-second commercial ad.
“New Jerseyans with drug addiction deserve a second chance. New Jersey is making it easier to find treatment. Don’t suffer. Don’t wait. Help is within reach.”
Opioid addiction is a major problem in the United States, and the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) has the statistics. According to ASAM, approximately 23 percent of people who use heroin develop an addiction. The leading cause of accidental death is by drug use.
In 2015, 52,404 people died from a drug overdose. More deaths have occurred from prescription pain pills than heroin in 2015. Children between the ages of 12 and 17 are more likely to be addicted to prescription pain pills. Women are more likely than men to become addicted to prescription pain pills.
ASAM revealed that in 2015, 122,000 adolescent children were addicted to prescription pain medications. Approximately 21,000 adolescents used heroin in 2015, more than tripling the amount of adolescent users from 2014.
Between 1999 and 2010, deaths among women from prescription pain pill overdoses went up by 400 percent, compared to 237 percent among men.
While Gov. Christie may not have had a successful run for presidency, let’s hope he can make a difference in the future of our country by helping this major drug epidemic we have had for several years now.
[Featured Image by Shawn Thew/Pool/Getty Images]
