Florida’s Attorney General in the Role of New Drug Czar?

October 19,2017 Florida

After the official withdrawal of the Republican Representative from Pennsylvania, Tom Marino, for the position of drug czar of the US, the country seems to be in turmoil. At least everyone who is concerned with the state of cannabis in the country are speculating about the next name for the position. One name that is common in all the discussions is Pam Bondi, the attorney general of the state of Florida.

Recent news reports are suggesting that Pam Bondi might be Trump’s pick for in charge of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) because of her active role in Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and Opioid Crisis. She was appointed by the Trump administration this year.

Bondi doesn’t think that it is necessary to fill the position of the director of ONDCP when DEA and other dedicated offices are already doing great for the drug control and to keep the drug policy on the right track. However, experts are of the thought that Bondi would be the perfect fit for this position since she has a seven-year experience for striving for the policies to increase penalties for the medical practitioners who are wrongfully using their prescription pads.

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She claims that the attorney general office with the assistance of law enforcements has sealed dozens of clinics abusing the oxycodone prescription. This action has significantly helped in curbing Florida’s ‘Pill Mill’ crisis.

But statistics show that the Bondi’s strict approach has backfired with people abusing prescription drugs have now elevated to the heroin addiction.

Since the infamous pill mill cleanup operation in Florida, there has been a 1250% rise in deaths caused by heroin abuse. This ineffective policy to regulate drug has continued by the trump administration and could become more devastating at the national level.

Why it is Crucial for Trump to Pick Drug Czar

Opioids crisis has been worsening with each passing day in the country. According to latest stats, around 64000 people have been killed by opioids in the year 2016. Nearly half of these deaths are related to the overdoses of prescribed painkillers. The situation has put President Trump in a tight spot to do something to address this disturbing state of affairs.

Electronic and social media is crammed with petrifying stories of opioid-related deaths, and US citizens are demanding that concrete steps should be taken to address the issue.

In August, President Trump said that he was on the brink of declaring a national emergency in the context of opioid pandemic. But we are still waiting for the declaration. Although on Monday, the President reiterated that he would make the announcement within this week.

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According to media reports, Bondi is traveling to Washington, D.C. before the end of the week to discuss the issue of opioid epidemic within the commission. But there is no hint that commission will ponder over the idea of legal medical marijuana as a likely solution.

Three years ago, Bondi strongly opposed the initiative to legalize medical marijuana in Florida. Recently, she also asked State Court judge to discard the petition filed by Unite for Care, proposing to allow patients to smoke medical marijuana.

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