{"id":19019,"date":"2025-04-26T16:57:04","date_gmt":"2025-04-26T15:57:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/?p=19019"},"modified":"2025-08-10T16:51:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T15:51:09","slug":"health-and-human-services-secretary-robert-kennedy-jr-urges-community-as-fix-to-opioid-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/2025\/04\/health-and-human-services-secretary-robert-kennedy-jr-urges-community-as-fix-to-opioid-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr. urges community as fix to opioid crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cMoney alone won\u2019t solve it,\u201d Kennedy told attendees at a Nashville convention addressing addiction\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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by <\/span>J. Holly McCall\u00a0<\/span>– April 24, 2025\u00a0<\/span>12:55 pm<\/span><\/span><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n
Hecklers interrupted a speech Thursday by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. at a conference on opioid addiction in Nashville.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The Rx and Illicit Drug Summit 2025 drew law enforcement officials, addiction prevention counselors, social workers and public health officers to the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center for the three-day event.<\/p>\n

For years, Kennedy has drawn ire and disapproval for his anti-vaccine messages and, more recently, for belittling comments about people with autism and budget cuts in his department.<\/p>\n

\u201cBelieve science!,\u201d shouted a protester before security rushed him from the room.Another protester held aloft a sign that read, \u201cVaccines save lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kennedy\u2019s speech was apolitical and focused on his own history in recovery from an addiction to heroin and his recommendations for dealing with the nation\u2019s opioid crisis \u2014 many of which focused less on medical or treatment solutions and more on the need to build community, embrace spirituality and take personal responsibility.<\/p>\n

After touting a $4 billion budget at HHS, Kennedy said that \u201cmoney alone won\u2019t fix this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a whole generation of children who have lost faith in our country and their future,\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cPolicy should reestablish hope for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alexis Pleus of Binghamton, New York, and another woman unfurled a banner saying \u201cCuts Kill\u201d before being ejected.<\/p>\n

Pleus, who came to Nashville with other members of a group called Moms United to End the War on Drugs, lost her son to a drug overdose and said budget cuts at HHS spurred her attendance.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration \u2014 and Kennedy \u2014 have proposed to restructure HHS, including dismantling the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), cutting research funding and funding for addiction treatment and mental health care.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll these changes are impacting people on the ground,\u201d Pleus said. \u201cPeople who are struggling with addiction can\u2019t get help already and now they\u2019re going to have an even harder time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The conference was sponsored by HMP Global, which provides continuing medical education.<\/p>\n

Past speakers have included former Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. President Donald Trump spoke to the group in 2019 during his first term in office.<\/p>\n

In addition to Kennedy, 2025 speakers included U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Tennessee senior U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Dr. Ralph Alvarado, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health.<\/p>\n

Source: https:\/\/tennesseelookout.com\/2025\/04\/24\/health-and-human-services-secretary-robert-kennedy-jr-urges-community-as-fix-to-opioid-crisis\/<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cMoney alone won\u2019t solve it,\u201d Kennedy told attendees at a Nashville convention addressing addiction\u00a0 by J. Holly McCall\u00a0– April 24, 2025\u00a012:55 pm Hecklers interrupted a speech Thursday by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. at a conference on opioid addiction in Nashville. The Rx and Illicit Drug Summit 2025 drew law […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73,68,135,104,40,19,61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-addiction","category-drug-use-various-effects","category-opioids","category-political-sector","category-prevention-research","category-usa","category-youth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19019"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19019\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}