Health
Trump’s Focus on Punishing Drug Dealers May Hurt Drug Users Trying to Quit
President Trump has long railed against drug traffickers. He has said they should be given the death penalty “for their heinous acts.” On the first day of his second term, he signed an executive order listing cartels as “terrorist organizations.”
But many public health and addiction experts fear that his budget proposals and other actions effectively punish people who use drugs and struggle with addiction.
The Trump administration has vowed to reduce overdose deaths, one of the country’s deadliest public health crises, by emphasizing law enforcement, border patrols and tariffs against China and Mexico to keep out fentanyl and other dangerous drugs. But it is also seeking huge cuts to programs that reduce drug demand.
The budget it submitted to Congress this month seeks to eliminate more than a billion dollars for national and regional treatment and prevention services. The primary federal agency addressing drug use, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, has so far lost about half its workers to layoffs under the Trump administration and is slated to be collapsed into the new Administration for a Healthy America, whose purview will reach far beyond mental illness and drug use.
And if reductions to Medicaid being discussed by Republicans in Congress are realized, millions of Americans will be unable to continue, much less start treatment.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment. The budget itself says that ending drug trafficking “starts with secure borders and a commitment to law and order” and that it is cutting addiction services deemed duplicative or “too small to have a national impact.”
Those cuts are agonizing, public health experts say, because they come just as the country is making sustained progress in lowering the number of fentanyl deaths. Many interventions may be contributing to that progress, including greater availability of the overdose reversal spray naloxone; more treatment beds, sober housing and peer counseling; and declines in the strength and quantity of the illicit drug supply, they say. But studies so far have not demonstrated convincingly which of those factors merit greater focus and investment.
“It would be a tragedy if we defund these programs without fully understanding what’s working and then our overdose rate starts to climb again,” said Dr. Matthew Christiansen, an addiction medicine physician in Huntington, W.Va., a city once labeled ground zero for the opioid crisis.
A letter signed by more than 320 behavioral medicine academic experts, sent Monday to congressional leaders, decried the cuts, including those to “community-based naloxone distribution, peer outreach programs, drug-use-related infectious disease prevention programs and drug test strip programs.”
The president’s budget calls for ending grants for “harm reduction,” a strategy to prevent disease transmission and keep drug users alive that has become largely accepted by mainstream addiction treatment providers.
The budget derides federal financial support for “dangerous activities billed as ‘harm reduction,’ which included funding ‘safe smoking kits and supplies’ and ‘syringes’ for drug users.”
That language is a callback to false reports in 2022 that a $30 million federal harm reduction grant could be used to purchase pipes for smoking crack and meth. In fact, a small portion of that grant, designated for “safer smoking kits,” was for supplies like alcohol swabs and lip balm. The grant also supported programs in states that permit sterile syringe exchanges, effective in reducing hepatitis C and H.I.V. infection rates.
“You can’t just tell people to stop using drugs with a snap of the fingers,” said Dr. Christiansen, a former director of West Virginia’s drug control policy. “These are tools to reduce the harm of opioids while also helping them be successful long-term.”
According to the federal agency’s annual survey of substance use, in 2023, 27.2 million Americans ages 12 or older had a drug use disorder, 28.9 million had alcohol use disorder, and 7.5 million had both.
The budget does leave intact block grants for states to combat addiction and mental illness. But without the agency’s additional grants, hands-on training and monitoring, in addition to possible Medicaid reductions, states will not be able to afford the many medical and social services required to prevent and treat addiction, Dr. Christiansen said.
David Herzberg, a professor of drug policy and history at the University at Buffalo, said that Mr. Trump’s almost single-minded linking of the nation’s drug problems with border issues harks back to late 19th-century America, when the government associated opium dens with Chinese immigrants. Fearing the incursion of Chinese workers and inflamed by press reports of Chinese men using opium to lure young white women into prostitution, Congress severely restricted Chinese immigration.
Then as now, Mr. Herzberg said, political conservatives found that targeting foreign drug suppliers was a muscular means of advancing broader agendas.
In contrast with highly publicized drug seizures, people who chronically use drugs have become afterthoughts, usually visible only as street irritants, their addiction perceived to be the result of their own choices, he said. Elected leaders who advocate for their welfare risk being tarred as soft on crime.
“If politicians are going to stick their necks out for them, I would be shocked,” Mr. Herzberg said.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Washington, DC – Medical victim Chloe Cole was at the center of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Thursday announcement of proposed regulatory actions to end “sex-rejecting procedures” on minors.
The proposed regulatory actions by the HHS are part of President Donald Trump‘s January executive order calling on the department to protect children from “chemical and surgical mutilation.”
The department is rolling out a series of policy updates and regulatory actions that would effectively defund hospitals that provide gender transition procedures, according to an HHS official.
NUMBER OF YOUNG ADULTS IDENTIFYING AS TRANSGENDER PLUNGES BY NEARLY HALF IN TWO YEARS
Cole, now 21 years old, went through the process of medical transition from female to male between the ages of 12 and 16.
The California native took to the stage alongside HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other officials Thursday to advocate for the protection of children. Afterward, she told Fox News Digital the puberty blockers, testosterone injections and double mastectomy she endured have irreversibly and permanently affected her health.
Detransitioner Chloe Cole joined HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday as he announced proposed regulations ending gender treatments for children. (Fox News Digital)
“As soon as gender was in the picture, none of my doctors or psychologists asked the real questions that they should have,” said Cole. “The entire focus was on my feelings and what I wanted rather than what I really needed in that moment.”
What she needed, Cole said, was to be loved and affirmed for the way God created her — “as a young and yet tomboyish little girl.”
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
She maintained that her doctors neglected to share risks, only touting the “benefits” of stopping female puberty and using testosterone to promote body hair growth, musculature and different fat distribution.
“There was nothing they could say to me that would make me understand the gravity of what I was about to go through, because I was still growing up,” said Cole. “I had very little experience in the world, and I simply would not be mature enough to be equipped to undergo such a life-changing procedure in every way.”
“I had very little experience in the world, and I simply would not be mature enough to be equipped to undergo such a life-changing procedure in every way,” Cole, pictured above in both pictures, told Fox News Digital. (Chloe Cole; Fox News Digital)
Cole noted that her parents never thought she was transgender, but felt like the odds were stacked against them.
“At the time when we started going through this as a family, there really were no resources that would speak to the reality of transgenderism, especially for children,” she said. “Most people were not aware then that this was something that was even happening in our hospital systems.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES
Cole said her parents were warned that if they did not allow her to transition, she would likely commit suicide.
“My legal guardians were forced to make this decision under duress,” she shared in a previous statement. “But even if my parents had supported transitioning medically from the start, no parent or any adult, ultimately, has a right to determine whether a child gets to be chemically sterilized or mutilated.”
“While there are only two sexes, there’s a million different ways that you can be yourself,” said Cole, pictured above during her surgeries. (Chloe Cole)
Cole said she’s suffered numerous complications from her medications and surgery. “My quality of life is still being impacted to this day,” she wrote in her statement.
Her fertility status now remains unknown, she said. She will not be able to breastfeed because her breasts were surgically removed.
“As an adult, I am now grieving, and on top of that, the areolar skin grafts they used in my surgery began to fail two years afterward. I must wear bandages on my chest every day,” Cole wrote.
“As an adult, I am now grieving.”
In 2023, Cole filed a lawsuit with the Center for American Liberty (CAL) against hospitals for pushing her into what she believes is medical mutilation.
Mark Trammell of CAL told Fox News Digital that Thursday’s HHS announcement “represents a critical acknowledgment that experimental medical interventions on children with gender distress have failed to meet basic standards of safety and effectiveness.”
Cole, who detransitioned after medical procedures, is warning others to wait and seek family support before transitioning. (Fox News Digital)
“It signals that medicine must return to its core ethical obligation: First, do no harm,” Trammell added.
“We will continue fighting to ensure accountability for the institutions that promoted these practices and to secure justice for the children and detransitioners whose lives were forever altered.”
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
In a previous statement provided to Fox News Digital, Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, said he is in favor of a “more conservative approach” for minors.
“Long-term effects of puberty blockers may include bone loss, trouble concentrating, interference with learning and interference with fertility,” he said. “I think it makes sense in most cases to treat underlying mental health concerns before jumping into treatments, including surgery, that may be difficult to reverse.”
“It makes sense in most cases to treat underlying mental health concerns before jumping into treatments.”
The doctor also emphasized that gender issues should not be overly politicized. “This means not superimposing an ideology or pushing physicians to act in a certain way or under pressure,” Siegel said.
Cole began the gender transition process at age 12 and received a double mastectomy surgery at 15 years old. (Fox News Digital)
“The welfare of the child must come first. In this case, it means going very slowly and providing support to a child or teen with gender dysphoria.”
Cole shared that she hopes any children who are questioning whether they should transition wait.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“While there are only two sexes, there are a million different ways that you can be yourself,” she added.
“God is there for you. He is the one who has created you this way, and you can seek his counsel,” Cole went on.
“You can continue praying, and I think ultimately it’s connecting with your family, building your purpose in this world, and looking to the gospel and up to God.”
Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed reporting.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Those at risk of type 2 diabetes may be able to prevent heart problems later.
A new study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology discovered that lowering the blood sugar of those with prediabetes could reduce the risk of heart attack by half.
Diabetes researchers and endocrine experts across Europe, China and the U.S. investigated how bringing blood sugar back to normal levels affected the chances of heart problems later in life, based on a 20-year American study and a 30-year Chinese study, according to a press release.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES
In both studies, the prediabetic participants were coached to make appropriate lifestyle changes to lower blood sugar (the amount of glucose in the bloodstream) through diet and exercise, also targeting weight loss.
Participants worked to lower blood sugar through diet and exercise targeted at weight loss. (iStock)
The researchers split the participants into a remission group (where blood sugar returned to normal) and a non-remission group, which included those still in the prediabetes range. They then determined who in these groups had died from heart disease or were hospitalized for heart failure.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Participants who went into remission had a 58% lower risk of dying from heart disease and being hospitalized for heart failure. This group also had a lower risk of other major heart events and lower overall death rates.
These heart-protective benefits lasted for decades after the program ended, the researchers found.
Those in prediabetes remission had their risk of a heart event reduced by more than half. (iStock)
“Reaching prediabetes remission is linked to a decades-long benefit, halving the risk of cardiovascular death or hospitalization for heart failure in diverse populations,” the researchers commented in the publication of the study. “Targeting remission might represent a new approach to cardiovascular prevention.”
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Dr. Andreas Birkenfeld, study co-author and professor of medicine at the University Hospital Tübingen in Germany, reiterated that reaching prediabetes remission is not only relevant for reducing the progression of type 2 diabetes, but may also be associated with a “meaningful reduction in… heart attack risk, cardiac death and heart failure.”
“Importantly, this underscores that prediabetes is a modifiable stage where timely, evidence-based interventions (especially lifestyle measures, and in selected cases, medication) can make a real difference,” he added.
“Reaching prediabetes remission is linked to a decades-long benefit, halving the risk of cardiovascular death or hospitalization for heart failure in diverse populations,” the researchers commented. (iStock)
The study did have some limitations, including that it is based on analysis of trials not originally designed to measure cardiovascular outcomes, which means the results show association but cannot prove causation.
In addition, unmeasured lifestyle and health factors, population differences and lack of randomization for heart outcomes may have influenced the reduced cardiovascular risk, the researchers acknowledged.
“This underscores that prediabetes is a modifiable stage where timely, evidence-based interventions … can make a real difference.”
Birkenfeld suggested that those with prediabetes should ask their doctors the following questions: “What is my current status? What is my personal cardiovascular risk? What is my target blood glucose level?”
Patients should also inquire about the frequency of testing for blood sugar and key risk factors like blood pressure, cholesterol and other related conditions, such as kidney function or sleep apnea, he advised.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
“If lifestyle changes aren’t enough or my risk is high, would medication be appropriate for me — and what are the benefits and downsides?” the researcher asked as an example.
About 98 million American adults, more than one in three, have prediabetes, according to CDC data. Eight in 10 of these adults are unaware that they have the disease.
Use left and right arrow keys to navigate between menu items.
Use escape to exit the menu.
Sign Up
Create a free account to access exclusive content, play games, solve puzzles, test your pop-culture knowledge and receive special offers.
Already have an account? Login
Connecticut doctor warns about ‘super flu’ as holiday gatherings approach
Denvir nets 30 as Delaware Valley downs Bernards – Boys basketball recap
Preview: December 19 at Florida | Carolina Hurricanes
Georgia group reacts to Trump’s executive order that could reclassify marijuana
Hawaii’s ‘Tokyo Toe’ honored outside Honolulu Hale
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
Video: Trump Mocks Obama, Biden in His Presidential ‘Walk of Fame’
Trump quietly signs sweeping $901B defense bill after bipartisan Senate passage
Mercosur signature delayed to January after Meloni asks for more time
Is ISIS making a comeback? : Sources & Methods
Texas Republicans launch ‘Sharia Free America Caucus’ aimed at defending ‘Western civilization’
-
Iowa4 days agoAddy Brown motivated to step up in Audi Crooks’ absence vs. UNI
-
Washington1 week agoLIVE UPDATES: Mudslide, road closures across Western Washington
-
Iowa6 days agoHow much snow did Iowa get? See Iowa’s latest snowfall totals
-
Maine3 days agoElementary-aged student killed in school bus crash in southern Maine
-
Maryland4 days agoFrigid temperatures to start the week in Maryland
-
Technology1 week agoThe Game Awards are losing their luster
-
South Dakota5 days agoNature: Snow in South Dakota
-
Nebraska1 week agoNebraska lands commitment from DL Jayden Travers adding to early Top 5 recruiting class