President Obama enlisted the help of hip-hop artist Macklemore in his weekly address Saturday. The Grammy-award winning performer joined the president to solicit the public’s attention to the growing drug epidemic in the U.S. and how Americans can unite to solve it.
“I take this personally. I abused prescription drugs and battled addiction,” Macklemore said. “I didn’t just know someone — I lost someone. My friend Kevin overdosed on painkillers when he was just 21 years old.”
Macklemore added he might not have survived if he had not received the help and resources to conquer his addiction.
“If I hadn’t gotten the help I needed when I needed it, I might not be here today. And I want to help others facing the same challenges I did,” he said.
The musical star lived, but many have not, Obama explained. Fatal overdoses from opioids have tripled since 2000 and drug overdoses kill more people every year than traffic accidents.
“That’s why just talking about this crisis isn’t enough — we need to get treatment to more people who need it,” the president said. “My administration is working with communities to reduce overdose deaths, including with medication. We’re working with law enforcement to help people get into treatment instead of jail. And under Obamacare, health plans in the Marketplace have to include coverage for treatment.”
Obama commended the House of Representatives for approving legislation this week that expands recovery services and treatment programs, but called for additional funding to go toward training doctors about the implications of prescribing medications patients may go on to abuse.
“The good news is, there’s hope. When we talk about opioid abuse as the public health problem it is, more people will seek the help they need. More people will find the strength to recover, just like Macklemore and millions of Americans have. We’ll see fewer preventable deaths and fewer broken families,” Obama concluded.
