ATLANTA (AP) - The trajectory of opioid deaths in the United States is trending in the wrong direction and has to be moved to the top of the federal government's radar screen along with the threat of terrorism and promoting a strong economy, President Barack Obama said Tuesday.
Obama said more people are being killed from opioid overdoses than from traffic accidents. "I think the public doesn't fully appreciate yet the scope of the problem," Obama told approximately 2,000 people attending the National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit.
Obama's appearance at the conference came as his administration issued proposed regulations and announced new funding for states to purchase and distribute the opioid overdose reversal drug, naloxone, and to train first responders and others on its use. The actions also coincide with a commitment from 60 medical schools to heighten training for prescribing opioids.
Opioids are highly addictive drugs that include both prescription painkillers like codeine and morphine, as well as illegal narcotics, primarily heroin. Deaths linked to opioids soared to more than 29,000 in 2014, the highest number on record.
Congress is attempting to allocate more resources to confront the problem, one of few areas where bipartisan agreement may be reached during the election year. However, the White House is critical of a Senate bill it says lacks critical funding. Obama is seeking $1.1 billion in new money to expand treatment for opioid addiction, which is about triple current levels.
"The problem we have right now is treatment is underfunded," Obama said.
Republican senators note the authorization bill, along with $400 million appropriated a few months earlier for opioid-specific programs, would still make important strides.
Obama spoke during a panel discussion with doctors and recovered drug addicts. He said drug addiction in the past has been treated as a law enforcement problem, while the public viewed it as a character flaw. Obama said the opioid epidemic shows addiction can reach everybody.
Obama alluded to his drug use as a youth and said he was in many ways lucky that addiction "didn't get its claws in me." An ex-smoker, he noted the exception was nicotine.
Obama said the U.S. can cut opioid abuse in the same way it has lowered tobacco use and traffic fatalities.