Once you remember that a retired neurosurgeon is running the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the head of the Environmental Protection Agency doesn't believe in environmental regulations, it makes sense that pollster Kellyanne Conway has been tasked with ending the opioid overdose epidemic in the United States, despite having no experience in public health or with drug policy.
On Wednesday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that President Trump has asked Conway, his counselor, to become the opioids czar. She will "coordinate and lead the effort from the White House" to solve the problem of opioid overdoses, which killed tens of thousands of Americans in 2016, Sessions said. He also said that state and local police departments will receive $12 million in grants and the Drug Enforcement Agency will open a field office in Louisville, Kentucky, to target opioid use in Appalachia.
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