President Obama linked the raging prescription drug abuse epidemic to income inequality, saying that people in vulnerable communities are especially at risk for becoming drug addicts.
“The truth of them matter is that poor communities are more vulnerable,” he said during a Wednesday forum in West Virginia, one of the hardest hit states from the drug abuse epidemic.
The president announced a plan to help combat opioid addiction by requiring federally contracted healthcare professions to be trained on how to properly prescribe opioids. He also wants to remove barriers to getting medical treatments to addicts for overdoses.
Obama said opioid addiction affects everyone, but hits poorer communities the hardest.
“The reason West Virginia has more cases partly has to do with the economics that have taken place in some of these communities,” Obama said during the forum. West Virginia’s overdose mortality rate is more than twice the national average, according to a report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Trust for America’s Health.
He noted that the problems in poor communities spill out into more affluent neighborhoods.
“If you start seeing more kids more involved in the drug trade over time that migrates into every community, and that is part of the reason why we have to care about every kid out here,” he said.
Obama noted that tackling prescription drug abuse is a bipartisan issue.
“The first thing to do is to understand that this is an American problem that cuts across groups and political affiliations,” he said.
The president noted that more money is needed for tackling prescription drug abuse, which kills about 44 people a day, according to government statistics.
He said his latest budget proposed $133 million for enhanced treatment and prevention programs.
