President Trump rallied over the weekend for the (apparent) losing GOP candidate, Rick Saccone, in the Pennsylvania special congressional election. In doing so, Trump covered a broad number of subjects, including his suggestion of giving the death penalty to drug dealers. It now seems that Trump wasn’t messing around, for Politico reports that his administration is now finalizing a plan that would result in capital punishment for some dealers of opioids.
Such a severe stance seems alarming, considering that no one really knew what Trump’s opioid cabinet — which is headed up by Kellyanne Conway — was doing to curb the epidemic. Yet the death penalty seems to truly be on the cabinet’s agenda, according to this report:
According to language circulating this week, the Trump administration will call for the death penalty as an option in “certain cases where opioid, including Fentanyl-related, drug dealing and trafficking are directly responsible for death.”
The administration claims its plan will reduce opioid prescriptions by one-third within three years and that the initiative will fulfill Trump’s campaign promise to “stop opioid abuse.”
In addition, the plan calls for limiting painkiller prescriptions by changing how they’re covered under government-subsidized plans. Congress will also be directed to tweak Medicaid plans to help patients seek treatment for addiction, and internet sales of painkillers would be more heavily monitored. The full plan is expected to be unveiled early next week, so get ready for that controversy.
(Via Politico)