Two and a half months ago, President Trump said he was going to declare the opioid crisis a “national emergency.” Then, for a long time, he didn't. Last week, he again said that he was about to declare it a “national emergency,” and then he reiterated that was his plan this week. Trump will declare the opioid crisis a “public health emergency” Thursday, rather than a “national emergency.” That may seem like quibbling with the president's words, but the latter would carry significantly more weight. In contrast, other public health officials, including some who served in the Obama administration, are arguing that the "public health emergency" is indeed a better fit. And given the smaller-scale “public health emergency” declaration, it's even less clear why it took 11 weeks to make this happen.

Source: Washington Post October 26, 2017 15:45 UTC