President Donald Trump will introduce his administration's plan to address the nation's opioid overdose epidemic March 19 in New Hampshire, according to CNN.
Here are five things to know.
1. A senior White House official told CNN the new plan would detail recommendations for how the $6 billion recently appropriated by Congress to address the crisis should be spent.
2. The plan will focus on implementing stiffer legal penalties for drug dealers, along with increased prevention and education efforts via a nationwide media campaign about the dangers of opioids. Other initiatives will include increasing access to federal funds for addiction treatment and helping recovering opioid users find jobs.
3. The plan's more punitive approach to penalizing drug dealers includes the pursuit of the death penalty in some instances.
"The Department of Justice will seek the death penalty against drug traffickers when it's appropriate under current law," Andrew Bremberg, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, told reporters during a March 18 call, according to CNN.
4. Senior White House officials did not offer further details on the death penalty proposal during the call, but did say the initiative — headed up by the DOJ — would not involve the passage of legislation from Congress.
5. President Trump and first lady Melania Trump will attend the New Hampshire event together. The two are collaborating on the opioid advertisement campaign.
"The first lady wants to focus on the well-being of children with ads that lay out you are a somebody, not a statistic, don't start with drugs, and educate them," a senior White House official told reporters March 18, according to CNN. "The President is more shock the conscience. He wants to shock people into not using it."
To read the full report from CNN, click here.
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