Trump proposes sentencing drug dealers to death in fight against opioids

March 15--The Trump administration is preparing to roll out a long-stalled plan to combat the opioid epidemic that includes executing drug dealers, a new report says.

The President has voiced support for killing narcotics peddlers, drawing criticism from politicians on both sides of the aisle.

But the White House is apparently plowing forward with an approach taken by such countries as the Philippines and Singapore.

The latest draft of the new policy calls for the death penalty as an option in "certain cases where opioid, including Fentanyl-related, drug dealing and trafficking are directly responsible for death," according to Politico.

The Trump administration has come under fire for dragging its feet in mounting a concerted effort to tackle an epidemic that killed more than 64,000 people in 2016.

The plan set to be rolled out as early as Monday is expected to included several measures recommended by the President's opioid commission -- including expanding access to the antidote Naloxone and calling on states to adopt a prescription drug monitoring database.

Trump also wants Congress to alter how Medicaid pays for treatment, offering an easier pathway for addicts to receive in-patient care.

The White House, as expected, is pushing for more severe punishment and prosecution in drug cases -- a position at odds with public health advocates.

"There is a lot of internal dissension between the health folks and the enforcement folks," one official involved in the crafting of the plan told Politico.

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