With Biden Team Focused On Other Crises, Experts Say Drug Epidemic Is Exploding
By Brian Mann
January 29, 2021
In the weeks after winning the November election, Joe Biden began naming officials to tackle the vortex of crises his administration would face on day one.
But despite a soaring death rate from drug overdoses, which hit a grim new record in 2020, President Biden hasn’t named permanent leaders for three key agencies tasked with tackling the drug epidemic: the Food and Drug Administration, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
“It’s a front burner issue on any day of the week but not on this day,” Reuben Guttman, an expert on drug policy who teaches at Emory Law, said last week in an interview with NPR. “And that’s a real problem.”
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President Joe Biden speaks about the coronavirus pandemic in the State Dining Room of the White House on Tuesday.
In the weeks after winning the November election, Joe Biden began naming officials to tackle the vortex of crises his administration would face on day one.
But despite a soaring death rate from drug overdoses, which hit a grim new record in 2020, President Biden hasn t named permanent leaders for three key agencies tasked with tackling the drug epidemic: the Food and Drug Administration, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Drug Enforcement Administration. It s a front-burner issue on any day of the week but not on this day, Reuben Guttman, an expert on drug policy who teaches at Emory Law, said last week in an interview with NPR. And that s a real problem.
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County Counsel Rodrigo Castro-Silva presented before the board the following possibilities for removing Villanueva: Amend the county’s charter: Get an amendment on the ballot would require public initiative or a board ordinance. It would then require a simple majority vote from residents. Recall the sheriff: This process starts with a notice of intention with 20 resident signatures filed with the Registrar/Recorder’s Office and published in a newspaper. If proponents gather sufficient signatures within 160 days and are certified as valid, the recall election can take place. Present an accusation: The sheriff must appear in court and answer to a civil grand jury accusation against him for willful or corrupt misconduct. If he pleads guilty or fails to respond, he can be convicted. If he denies the matter, a jury trial, similar to that of an indictment, is set. What constitutes willful or corrupt misconduct has not been defined.
Biden signs order to expand health coverage in pandemic
WASHINGTON, DC President Joe Biden acted Thursday to get more people health insurance in the middle of the raging coronavirus pandemic, a down payment on his pledge to push the U.S. toward coverage for all.
At the White House, he signed an executive order reopening the HealthCare.gov insurance markets, something the Trump administration refused to do. He also moved to start reversing other Trump administration policies, including curbs on abortion counseling and work requirements for low-income people getting Medicaid.
Biden has promised to build on former President Barack Obama’s health law to achieve his goal of health insurance coverage for all Americans, while rejecting the single government-run system that Sen. Bernie Sanders pushed for in his “Medicare for All” proposal. But Biden will need congressional approval for his more centrist approach, and opposition to “Obamacare” still runs deep among Republic