Coming up today, the brookings is tuition here in washington will host the turkish president for an address on the challenges facing his country, as it approaches its 100th anniversary in 2033. Live coverage at 12 30 eastern. We also have road to the white house coverage. Cruz and former republican candidate Carly Fiorina will be in appleton, wisconsin talking and meeting with voters at a pizza store. At 4 00, a panel looking at the opportunities and risks of network smartphones. Analysts predict that domain will double in size by the year 2020. That is a nearly 2 trillion market. That is from the Atlantic Council starting at 4 00. This week, we are featuring programs on the situation of the Current Supreme Court vacancy. An apparent impasse between democrats, the white house, and republicans over the next Supreme Court justice, we look at what todays leaders have said in the past considering the nomination and confirming process of individuals to the Supreme Court. Confirmation hearings, no matter how long, fruitful, or thorough, can alone provide a sufficient basis for determining if a nominee merits a seat on our Supreme Court. Thoughtful senator should realize any benefits of barring an ideological opponent the outweigh not likely to the damage done to the courts institutional standing. It even goes on, ideological opposition to a nominee from one end of the political spectrum is likely to help generate similar opposition to their nominations from the opposite end. Some of the programs featured this week on cspan. Tonight on cspan, the Supreme Court cases that shaped our history come to life in landmark cases. Our series explores real life stories and constitutional dramas behind some of the most significant decisions in u. S. History. This ismargo said different, the constitution is a political document. But it is also a law. If it is a law, we have the courts to tell us what it means. Ultimate antipresident ial case, exactly what you do not want to do. Who should make the decisions about the case. The Supreme Court said it should make the decisions about the case. Tonight, we look at the case changed the working conditions in the United States regarding the 14th amendment. Tonight, the growing problem of addiction to prescription painkillers and heroine. The drugs are known as opioids, and according to the National Institute of health, more than 2 million americans are addicted to them. Nih says the number of Overdose Deaths have quadrupled in the u. S. Since 1999. Deaths have quadrupled in the u. S. Since 1999. Hours, weext three will take a look at the problem and what congress and the executive branch are trying to do about it. We start with a visit president obama made to West Virginia last fall. That state has the highest rate of Overdose Deaths in the nation. Office, icame into started studying this issue. Of, lets call it opioids. And i was stunned by the specifics. More americans now die every year from Drug Overdoses and they do from Motor Vehicle crashes. More than they do from car accidents. The majority of those overdoses involve legal, Prescription Drugs. In 2013 alone, overdoses from prescription pain medications killed more than 16,000 americans. One year. Ont know what to tell you as is a terrible toll. The numbers are big, but behind those numbers are incredible pain for families. Thisvirginia understands better than anybody, because the state is home to the highest rate of Overdose Deaths in the nation. Addiction is not new. 99, sales of89, pain medications have skyrocketed by 300 . Million 259 prescriptions were written for these drugs, which is more than enough to give every american adult their own bottle of pills. Their use has increased, so has the misuse. Some folks are prescribed these medications are good reasons, that they become addicted because they are so powerful. At the same time, we have seen a dramatic rise in the use of heroin, which belongs to the same class of drugs as painkillers. The class of drugs known as opioids. Heroin, four in five new heroin users, started out by misusing Prescription Drugs. Then they switched to hair when. Heroin. This really is a gateway Prescription Drugs become a gateway to haieroin. Relatedber of heroin deaths in america nearly quadrupled. Although the number of heroin related overdoses is still far exceeded by the number of legal Prescription Drugs. Lives, crisis is taking it is destroying families, it is share it is chattering communities and that is something about Substance Abuse it doesnt discriminate. From celebrities to College Students to soccer moms, to innercity kids. White, black, hispanic, young, old, rich, poor, urban, suburban, men and women. It can happen to a coal miner, a construction worker, a cop who took a painkiller for a workrelated injury, it could happen to the doctor who writes the prescription. Have ishe problems we too many families suffer in silence, feeling like they were the only once struggling to help a loved one. And lets face it, there is still fear and shame and stigma that too often surround Substance Abuse, and often prevents people from seeking the help they deserve. When people throw around words like junkie, nobody wants to be labeled in that way. Is tof our goal here replace those words with words like father, or daughter, or son, friend, sister. Then you understand there is a Human Element behind this. This could happen to any of us, in any of our families. Would we replace a word like junkie with recovery coaches, specialists like jordan . Epidemicfight this without eliminating stigma. Thats one of the reasons im so proud of michael, who is the first person in the job of dealing with drugs in america who actually knows what it is like to recover from addiction. He shares his own story as a way to encourage others to get the help they need before its too late. My problem is that there are elected officials in the state who have told their stories about what is happening in her family, and to themselves, in order for us to start lowering keep peopledes that from getting help. Ive made this a priority for my administration. We are not new to this. In 2010, we released our First National drug control strategy. We followed that up in 2011, with the Prescription Drug abuse prevention plan. We are implement and this plans, we are partnering with communities to prevent drug use, reduce Overdose Deaths, help people get treatment. And under the Affordable Care act, more health plans have to cover Substance Abuse disorders. Congress wouldnt invest in things like state Overdose Prevention programs, preparing more First Responders to save more lives and expanding medication assisted treatment programs. We have to make those investments, rather than spending billions of dollars, taxpayer dollars, on long prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenders. We could save money and get Better Outcomes by getting treatment to those who need it. [applause] and we can use some of the savings to make sure that Law Enforcement has the resources to go after the hardened criminals who are bringing hard drugs like heroin into our country. With no other disease do we expect people to wait until they are a danger to themselves or others to self diagnose and seek treatment. Every other disease you have a broken leg, diabetes, some sort of sickness, we understand that we have to get you help. We also understand, when it comes to other diseases, that if we dont give you help and let you suffer, other people could get sick. This is an illness, and we have to treat it as such. We have to change our mindset. [applause] this is one of the reasons the dea the cleared a national Prescription Drug takeback day, a day when americans can safely of conveniently dispose expired and unwanted Prescription Drugs in their community. Most young people will begin misusing Prescription Drugs when they get them from mom or dads medicine cabinet. And today, we are also announcing new actions. First, we are ensuring that federal agencies training federal Health Care Providers who prescribe opioids. Its a commonsense idea that you are already implementing in West Virginia. Congress should follow that lead and make this a national priority, and we work forward to looking with governors in the medical community as well. Second, and joe and i were talking on the flight over, there is evidence that shows medicaidassisted treatment, if done properly in combination with behavioral therapy and other support and counseling and 12 Step Programs and things like that, can work, and can be an effective strategy to support recovery. But it cant adjust be replacing one drug with another. It has to be part of the package. We are going to identify any exist thatat still are keeping us from creating more of these Treatment Facilities, and incorporating them into our federal programs. Private sector partners are helping out to help fight this epidemic as well, and it want to give them some credit. More than 40 medical groups, from the American Medical Association to the american dental association, are committing to concrete actions, and we need to work with the medical community, because they are the front lines on prescribing this stuff, and there has got to be a sense of responsibility and ownership and accountability there. We have to expand prescriber training. Naloxone. The use of i want to make sure i was browsing that right. Naloxone. This is something that they First Responders have it can often save, quickly, the lives of somebody who is having an overdose. We want to make sure that First Responders have a supply of this. We want to make sure we are getting more physicians certified to provide medication assisted treatment. We then have broadcasters providing airtime for education and awareness, and groups like the nba have committed to running psas about drug abuse. Thats just an example of some of the private sector partnerships we are forging. The point is and i will end with this we all have a role to play. They people like jordan, remind us, these are our kids, not somebody elses kids, our kids. Not somebody elses neighborhood, its our neighborhood. And they deserve every chance. We have got to make sure we are doing right by them. We are taking this seriously, and the goal today is to shine a spotlight on this and make sure we walk out of here, all of us, committed, whether we are a safe leader, an elected official, in Law Enforcement, a private citizen, a business, we all have a role to play. You understand that here in West Virginia and we want to make sure the whole country understands how urgent this problem is. Host after president obamas remarks, he sat down for a discussion with people personally affected by drug addiction. One of them was kerry dixon, whose son is in prison, where he is undergoing treatment for opioid addiction. I spoke this morning to a good friend of mine who was calling me to wish me well today, to encourage me in this endeavor, and this friend of mine lost her daughter to an a half years ago to drugs. I dont take this charge as being here lightly. I realize that i am here to represent families, and i am grateful for the opportunity. Do want to say that as i am speaking to you, i am sharing my story, timesharing the stories of so many other family members that are in this community and in the nation that has this issue. And this also is important to know for the sake of time, ill try to make this concise this is the tip of the iceberg of what families experience and endure when they love someone with an addiction. We raise our children in loving homes; we teach them morals and values; we teach them the difference between right and wrong. We wonder what is happening in the great start slipping, when things that used to be enjoyable for our loved ones no longer interest them. As to the cause of the personality changes that we see in our loved ones. Were shocked when we hear of that first dui. We are fearful when our loved ones are taken to jail for the first time. Embarrassed when holidays approach, and family members are coming in from out of towns, and loved ones cant interact because they are under the influence of drugs. We dread the next phone call. We cant sleep because we havent received a phone call. We dont take vacations for fear of the next crisis. We come back from vacation because there is a crisis. Bute sad and angry, most importantly, sentimental items are missing from our homes, only to find out that they are at upon shop or in the hands of drug dealers. Relieved when our loved ones acknowledge that they have a serious problem, and understand they need help, and we are devastated when we help them seek treatment only to find out that there is a monthlong wait, or that there is no insurance coverage, or that there is a big requirement for money up front for treatment. And uncomfortable when someone asks us about our loved ones, and we are even more sad when they ask about every other member of our family, and dont mention our loved ones. We neglect our marriages. We neglect other children in our homes, who are thriving. Because all of our attention is focused on addiction and Substance Abuse. We disagree endlessly about the right way to handle this problem. And after experiencing years of turmoil, we rest better at night when our loved ones are incarcerated, because the place you never dreamed your loved one would ever see, a jail or prison, is safer than them being on the street, interacting with drug dealers pushing a needle into their arms. The ones who are fortunate, we layaway get night and we plan our loved ones funeral. The ones who arent fortunate, actually do plan the funeral in reality. This is where addiction has taken us. This is where Substance Abuse has taken us. All that being said, there is hope. Thats probably the most important thing to remember here. , to people inful recovery helping others. We are grateful to the mayor, who has so tirelessly and endlessly spearheaded programs to help our community recover. Made itue, whos possible for people to receive treatment in our communities. Important,cation is and i was fortunate enough to find a group developed by a man named ed hughes. Its a sevenweek series that provides education and support for family members, for those who care about those with an addiction. Program, week of the we get to speak to people in recovery. They speak to our group of people, and it inspires us, because we know that recovery is possible, that it can happen. For too long, we have been silenced, and i think this is going to answer your question as parents and family members, because of the stigma and this of this disease, we have been silent, and i think that is holding us back. We need to open our voices so that people dont feel ashamed. This is a disease that is a sickness. But education, educating ourselves as much as we can, and speaking out to raise awareness, is i think critical in this situation. Im almost finished. People in 12 Step Recovery groups and different groups rely on a higher power. In myperson of faith, faith has helped me navigate this journey that we have been on. I just want to share with you a verse that i hold dear for my own family member, who is sick, but also offer to others. Jeremiah 2911. The plans to prosper you, to give you hope in the future. I believe that every person in the throes of an addiction and Substance Abuse needs hope in the future, and i believe this for their families as well. Thank you so much. [applause] host opioid drug abuse was also a topic on the campaign trail. New hampshire is the first in the nations primary state, and Overdose Deaths in that state have doubled in the last two years. Days before the New Hampshire primary, texas senator ted cruz spoke about his sisters addiction and her overdose death. The senator was introduced at the event by a recovering crack addict. Witell, that all sounded really great is chief bartlett here . Hey, chief. In putting this deal together, all that sounded great, but chief bartlett said to me i lived in florida for 26 years, in New Hampshire in the 1980s, and when i called him up to put this together, he said, you know, i used to be an undercover drug agent in manchester. Were you living here in the 1980s . I think i know you. [laughter] all that sounded really good, but what it was was someone trying to woefully get their way s any recovering alcoholic or addict will tell you, if they have read their 12step program carefully, we never quite finish anything. We get tight at all the wrong times. I used to do that. I was born in massachusetts, not far from here, in the central part of massachusetts, a little town called charlton. I went to the hospital when i was five. When i came out of the hospital, im having a hard time today. Most of my family was gone. Our store was gone, our home was gone, we got wiped out in a flood. Luckily, my mother had taken my sibl