Trump establishes Commission on Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis

Presidents' opioid crisis commission will give interim recommendations June 27, final findings Oct. 1 

President Trump signed an executive order March 29 to establish the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis. The commission was created to “study the scope and effectiveness of the federal response to drug addiction and the opioid crisis and to make recommendations to the president for improving that response.”

Members will be appointed to the commission in a manner that is “fairly balanced in terms of the points of view represented and the functions to be performed by the commission,” according to the order.

In a listening session held at the White House to mark the establishment of the commission, Trump announced that Gov. Chris Christie (R) of New Jersey would lead its work. Under Christie’s leadership, the commission is charged with the following:

• Identifying existing federal funds used to combat drug addiction and the opioid crisis.
• Assessing availability and accessibility of addiction treatment services and overdose reversal throughout the country.
• Identifying best practices for addiction prevention.
• Reviewing the effectiveness of educational messages on prescription and illicit opioids.
• Evaluating the scope and effectiveness of existing federal programs to prevent and treat drug addiction and making recommendations for their improvement, and
• Making recommendations to the president for improving the federal response to drug addiction and the opioid crisis.

Learn more

Read the NACo-NLC task force's report

The commission is directed under the executive order to provide the president a set of interim recommendations by June 27 and its final findings and recommendations by Oct. 1. The commission will be terminated 30 days after submitting its final report.

Over the last several months, NACo has been engaged in a joint effort with the National League of Cities (NLC) to comprehensively assess the local response to the opioid epidemic. In November 2016, the organizations published a joint report titled "A Prescription for Action," offering recommendations for reducing rates of opioid misuse, overdose and fatality through local, state and federal action.