Trump Calls for Death Penalty for Drug Traffickers to Combat Opioids
- Directive to DOJ part of plan to address spike in overdoses
- President on Monday to roll out more details in New Hampshire
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President Donald Trump called for drug dealers to receive the death penalty in some cases as part of his administration’s effort to address the opioid crisis.
The Department of Justice “will seek the death penalty against drug traffickers, where appropriate under current law,’’ the White House said in a fact sheet released on Sunday.. The White House also floated several other initiatives to combat opioid overdoses that killed more than 40,000 people in the U.S. in 2016 -- five times higher than the rate in 1999.