As Overdose Deaths Surge, White House Takes Steps To Build Drug Policy Team
at 2:44 pm NPR
President Biden named more of the team that will tackle the addiction crisis on Wednesday while promising a series of policy actions in the first 100 days.
Updated at 6:30 p.m. ET
The announcement comes as overdose deaths surge to record levels, topping 81,000 fatalities over the past 12 months, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Regina LaBelle, a veteran drug policy expert who served in the Obama administration, was named deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).
In a statement, LaBelle said mounting rates of overdose deaths and untreated addiction are significant challenges especially at a time when the Biden team faces other major crises.
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California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a motion Feb. 1 to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the approval of a major resort in a wildfire-prone area of Lake County.
Becerra seeks to join a lawsuit filed last August by the Center for Biological Diversity and the California Native Plant Society challenging the environmental impact report (EIR) for the Guenoc Valley Mixed Use Planned Development project.
According to a press release from Becerraâs office, the EIR certified by the Lake County Board of Supervisors last July âfails to adequately analyze and mitigate the increased wildfire risk associated with the project, as well as the greenhouse gas emissions and other adverse environmental impacts.
Publishing date: Feb 04, 2021 • February 4, 2021 • 1 minute read •
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Consulting firm McKinsey & Company on Thursday said it has agreed to pay nearly $600 million to resolve investigations by most U.S. states into its alleged role in “turbocharging” sales of opioids, fueling a nationwide epidemic.
McKinsey struck a $573 million settlement with 47 states, the District of Columbia and five territories which will go toward opioid treatment and prevention. It reached separate deals with Washington state and West Virginia that boost the total.
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What’s the news: In another early executive order, President Joe Biden moved to reverse a ban on transgender people serving openly in the U.S. military. The AMA applauded the move, and also is supporting the nomination of Rachel Levine, MD, the Pennsylvania health secretary and pediatrician. Dr. Levine would be the first openly transgender federal official, if confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
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“The AMA welcomes the president’s decision to reverse the policy that largely barred transgender people from serving in the military because there is no medically valid reason to exclude them,” said AMA President Susan R. Bailey, MD. “Transgender people have served our country with honor, and they should be allowed to continue doing so. Ending this discriminatory policy is a win for all patriotic Americans who