The commission specifically declined to endorse the use of marijuana for pain, despite some studies suggesting that access to marijuana may decrease opioid deaths. At the commission's final meeting, where members approved the report, Christie spoke passionately about ending the stigma surrounding drug addiction. Like Trump, who declared the opioid crisis a “public health emergency” six days ago, the President's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis identified no new funding for the drug crisis, which claims the lives of an estimated 175 people every day. Physicians have said they feel pressure to treat pain aggressively, often with drugs, so they are not penalized on such surveys. The start of the opioid epidemic in the early 2000s is widely blamed on the overprescription of opioid medications.

Source: Washington Post November 01, 2017 18:19 UTC