Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
Every 19 minutes, someone dies from an opiod overdose.
Yesterday, President Obama spoke about that troubling statistic at a summit on prescription drug abuse and heroin. He noted that currently, more Americans are killed because of opiod overdose than in traffic accidents.
"Now you think about that," the President said. "A lot of people tragically die of car accidents and we spend a lot of time and a lot of resources to reduce those fatalities. And the good news is that we've actually been very successful. The problem is here we've got the trajectory going in the opposite direction."
The President also announced a package of new initiatives designed to combat drug use.
Michael Botticelli, Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, joined Take Two to discuss.
To listen to the full interview, click the blue player above.