Governor Chris Christie appointed to lead commission combating drug addiction

On the same day that Bridgegate news was making headlines, the POTUS shifted the story and selected Chris Christie, the Governor of New Jersey, to head a new commission devoted to battling growing opioid addiction throughout the United States.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 183,000 people have died in the U.S.due to prescription opioid overdose (covering the years from 1999 to 2015). In addition, it is prescription opioids that are the cause of almost 50% of all opioid overdose deaths in America.

This drug challenge has reached new heights, clearly requiring new solutions in order to curb and/or eradicate a comprehensive, complex, and perplexing problem.

Enter the new Office of American Innovation charged with overseeing the work of this commission (as well as other related duties).

Why have the Office of American Innovation work on opioid prevention

The POTUS's placement of a commission whose focus is on opioid addiction prevention within the new Office of American Innovation (OAI) initially had brows furrowed. Trump's presidential memo identified the purpose of the the OAI to bring together the best and brightest ideas available throughout the country and utilize a business-model approach to make scalable models that solve problems, create jobs, spur innovation, and improve the quality of American life.

OAI will be led by Jared Kuchner, Senior Advisor to the President, and include more than ten additional high-ranking members of the President's team.

The office's role of improving the quality of American life has direct ties to the work that the commission can do.

Why now

According to the CDC, emergency rooms throughout the nation treat nearly 1,000 individuals a day who have abused prescription opioids. That's 7,000 people a week or 364,000 people a year - which is nearly the same as the entire estimated 2015 population of Tampa, FL, Honolulu, HI, or Anaheim, CA.

Opioid Abuse has clearly hit an unfathomable level. A commission to address the issue - housed in the Office of American Innovation or any other location - is an urgent necessity.