Hillary Clinton calls the scourge of heroin and opioid addiction a “quiet epidemic.” Donald Trump marvels that overdoses are a problem in picturesque American communities. “How does heroin work with these beautiful lakes and trees?” he said recently in New Hampshire. “It doesn’t.” The Associated Press reports that both candidates agree drug addiction is a major problem but only Clinton has offered a detailed plan to tackle it. She has outlined a $10 billion plan to give states more money for prevention, treatment, and recovery programs. Trump has long centered his plan on stopping the flow of illegal drugs by building a wall along the southern border. More recently, he has called for expanding enforcement as well as treatment programs, but he has offered no specifics on costs.
Heroin and opioid addiction is at a nationwide peak — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 78 Americans die from a drug overdose every day. It’s particularly felt in states such as Ohio and New Hampshire, frequent stops on the presidential campaign trail, where overdoses from heroin and other drugs, like the powerful synthetic version of the painkiller fentanyl, have skyrocketed in recent years. The AP gives a detailed summary of both Clinton and Trump’s proposals.