With the 2016 Presidential Election coming up within the next couple days, everyone is on the edge of their seat waiting to see who the next President of the United States will be. Both candidates in their races have expounded upon their stances regarding different critical issues, one of which is the epidemic of drug abuse and addiction. Being that addiction is on the rise in our contemporary society, it is imperative that our next leader has a solid plan of action to address this. While both have explained their stances more or less, it brings the question of whether the approach to the epidemic will genuinely change with the new presidency. We will have to wait and see what our new president’s plan for fighting addiction entails.
Presidential Plan for Substance Abuse
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have a bit of a disparity in the way they plan to target the issue of addiction. Clinton has laid out a comprehensive plan that she wants to implement, while Mr. Trump’s plan of action has mostly been stated in pieces throughout his campaign speeches. While both candidates focused mainly on the epidemic of opiates, their overall stances can be indicators of how they may handle the rest of substance abuse issues. Let’s break down each candidate’s position, as well as their plan of how to handle the problem.
Hillary Clinton’s Plan of Action for Addiction
Donald Trump’s Plan for Fighting Addiction
Trump’s plan focuses mainly on the prevention of drugs entering the country. He states that his proposal of building a wall along the border of Mexico will keep drugs from coming into the country in the first place. Since it has been found that most of the heroin that has been seized in the U.S. has been shown to be from Mexico, the idea is that the wall would prevent it from even getting into the country. Another proposal of his is making it harder for China to ship drugs, such as fentanyl, into the country. According to the DEA, China is mass producing fentanyl and then selling it to drug trafficking groups within the United States. Trump has also supported the use of naloxone and wants to make it easier for doctors to prescribe it. Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence, had implemented stricter minimum sentences for drug offenders as governor of Indiana, and Trump has suggested that he aligns with Pence in his stance regarding drug offenders and criminal justice.
Conclusion
While there are substantial differences in each candidate’s approach and plan for fighting addiction, with Clinton’s mainly being helping those already addicted and preventing more people from becoming addicts, and Trump primarily focusing on cutting the supply lines, both of their plans have mostly essential points. Both of these methods have factors that could be extremely conducive to decreasing the statistics of addiction. Either way, it seems safe to say that if the candidates stay true to their word, we will see substantial changes in the way that the epidemic is being handled. Ideally, whichever way the election goes, the winner’s plan will be implemented with haste to begin to improve this spreading epidemic quickly. So whether you see Trump or Clinton as the ideal next president, remember to get out there and vote!
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