Melania Trump: ‘Much more work to be done’ on opioids

First Lady Melania Trump kicked off an opioids summit Thursday by saying she is “so proud” of the administration’s efforts to combat addiction but that far too many Americans still need treatment, a shoulder to cry on and belief they’re not alone in the fight.

“We all know there is still much work to be done, which is why you’re all here today,” she told a crowd at the White House, which included family members of those who died from painkiller and heroin abuse.

Opioid-related overdoses killed 42,000 people in 2016 alone. Estimates suggest the problem only got worse in 2017, as synthetic fentanyl filters through illicit heroin market, so Mr. Trump declared the opioids problem a public health emergency in October.

Mrs. Trump said the administration’s work plan is divided into three buckets — prevention, treatment, and recovery — and that her personal focus will be on young mothers and their babies, who might be born with opioid withdrawal symptoms.

The summit served as the public debut of President Trump’s new drug czar, Jim Carroll, who’s been named acting secretary of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and featured a who’s who of Cabinet officials, including Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.

Mr. Carson said manufacturers are reporting it is difficult to find enough workers who can pass a drug test.

“That gives you an idea of some of the pervasiveness of this in our society,” he said.

Down the street, Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that the 4.1-percent unemployment rate does not reflect the share of people who are of working age but not looking for jobs. Throw them in, and the unemployment rate is closer to 9 percent, and the opioids situation is a key driver of that gap in participation, according to the senator.

Mr. Azar said his department is helping states cut red tape so that more people have access to treatment beds.

A mother at the summit said her son, Ryan, died of an overdose in a Macy’s department-store restroom while he was on the wait list for recovery programs, so more capacity is needed.

Others applauded the White House for encouraging survivors of opioids addiction to share their stories, so others feel supported.

“That’s going to go a long way toward breaking down the barriers of stigma,” said North Dakota First Lady Kathryn Helgaas Burgum, who’s spoken openly about her recovery from alcoholism.