In a Sunday announcement, the White House stated that President Trump plans to seek the death penalty for some drug traffickers “where appropriate under the law,” in an effort to combat the growing opioid epidemic.
Additionally, the White House said that the president will ask Congress to pass new laws that will lower the amount of drugs necessary for mandatory sentencing for traffickers “who knowingly distribute certain illicit opioids that are lethal in trace amounts.”
#BREAKING: Trump to release plan to fight opioid epidemic that includes death penalty for drug dealers https://t.co/ReQ2UVp63o pic.twitter.com/m4njfOO6Ay
— The Hill (@thehill) March 18, 2018
President Trump is expected to make the formal announcement in New Hampshire, during a Monday visit, and at a recent rally in Pennsylvania, he floated the idea of using the death penalty as a deterrent.
“You kill 5,000 people with drugs, because you’re smuggling them in, and you are making a lot of money and people are dying. And they don’t even put you in jail,” said Trump. “That’s why we have a problem, folks. I don’t think we should play games.”
The president is also expected to call upon Congress to change a rule, that for decades, has restricted Medicaid from funding residential treatment for individuals suffering with opioid addiction.
