Obama Teams With Macklemore to Warn About Opioid Addiction
In his weekly address posted Saturday morning, President Obama appeared alongside Grammy-winning rapper Macklemore to discuss the epidemic of addiction to opioids.
“I’m here with President Obama because I take this personally,” Macklemore said. “I abused prescription drugs and battled addiction. If I hadn’t gotten the help I needed when I needed it, I might not be here today.”
“I’ve got a special guest with me this week—@macklemore.” —@POTUS in his weekly address: https://t.co/q866Jwmnu9 https://t.co/35Zfbecspj
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 14, 2016
“Addiction doesn’t always start in some dark alley — it often starts in a medicine cabinet,” the president said, noting that legal prescriptions from doctors were at the root of many deaths from drug overdoses.
“Addiction is like any other disease – it doesn’t discriminate,” said Macklemore. “It doesn’t care what color you are, whether you’re a guy or a girl, rich or poor, whether you live in the inner-city, a suburb, or rural America. This doesn’t just happen to other people’s kids or in some other neighborhood. It can happen to any of us.”
The White House said that deaths from drug overdoses had tripled since 2000 and were now responsible for more fatalities than traffic accidents. In the address, the president outlined proposals for expanding treatment for addiction, noting that “under Obamacare, health plans in the Marketplace have to include coverage for treatment.”
“I’ve asked Congress to expand access to recovery services, and to give first responders the tools they need to treat overdoses before it’s too late. This week, the House passed several bills about opioids – but unless they also make actual investments in more treatment, it won’t get Americans the help they need,” he said.
“On top of funding, doctors also need more training about the power of the pain medication they prescribe, and the risks they carry.”
