The Health 202: Biden just lost his cancer moonshot chief
Credit: Washington Post, Rachel Roubein
Out this morning: New report on synthetic opioids. The Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking released five-pronged recommendations on ways to curb the potent drug, which comprises a large share of the nation’s overdose deaths.
The commission is comprised of members of Congress, executive branch departments and experts. Recommendations including elevating the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy to a Cabinet-level position; disrupting drug supply through targeted oversight; and improving surveillance and data analysis.
Congress may need to increase funding and pass legislation to bolster some of these proposed efforts — which could be tough in the lead up to the midterms.
But could lawmakers come together and pass a bipartisan bill? “I think it’s damn realistic and has to happen,” Rep. David Trone (D-Md.), a co-chair of the commission, told The Health 202.
