President Trump appoints NC Gov. Cooper to panel to combat opioids
WASHINGTON (WTVD) -- North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is among five people that President Donald Trump is appointing to a panel to fight the growing opioid problem.
Trump announced Wednesday that he planned to name Cooper and four others to be members of the Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis.
Cooper told ABC11 on Wednesday that he has accepted the appointment.
"I think this is another bipartisan issue," Cooper said Wednesday night. "We agree that opioid use, not only in North Carolina but across the country, is a significant problem. Opioid addiction is fierce, and significant treatment needs to come for people who have this problem."
The other people Trump planned to designate are:
- Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey to be chairman
- Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts
- Former U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy of Rhode Island
- Bertha K. Madras of Massachusetts
In March, ABC News reported that Christie would be involved in the opioid battle, though the idea was in fledgling form at the time.
The ABC11 I-Team examined the growing drug crisis, particularly with heroin, in an investigation in February.
The I-Team talked to four parents of addicts with different stories and in different stages of their children's drug abuse.
You can join ABC11 Eyewitness News as we explore and discuss the opioid crisis during a special Town Hall, Addiction: Hidden in Plain Sight, May 17 at the Cary Arts Center. You can read more or register here.
