substance use disorders, the attorney general repeated the administration’s commitment to punitive measures instead.
In addition to lauding the Coast Guard’s success in seizing illicit substances that were covertly transported across waters, Sessions underscored the Trump Administration’s position that a border wall would stem the flow of drugs into the country.
Sessions has stated that the fight against drugs was worse than it’s ever been before, citing 52,000 domestic overdose deaths in 2015. He also said that the increased availability of drugs would continue to cause those rates to rise.
Nevertheless, Sessions made it clear that he believed that increased law enforcement actions and penal consequences were the keys to fighting the addiction epidemic, a position that many experts have roundly rejected.
