9TH District Congressman Bill Keating says President Trump is taking us backwards.
Keating, a member of the Bipartisan Heroin Task Force, was responding to remarks by Trump Monday in Manchester, NH regarding the opioid crisis in the country. Trump said he wants the death penalty for some drug dealers during a stop at Manchester Community College.
Keating says he started an Opioid Task Force more than a decade and a half ago when he was Norfolk County District Attorney. Keating says at the time, he was tasked with the responsibility of approaching the issue from a criminal side but soon learned it is much more of a public health issue. Keating says that is why the CDC advocates for an approach of combining medically assisted and behavioral health treatment as the best course, adding that Massachusetts has been a leader in treatment and prevention nationwide.
Keating says while interdiction and law enforcement have a place, the narrow approach that dominated Trump’s remarks on Monday won’t work.