Opiod addiction almost silently grew from a troubling problem to a nationwide epidemic that’s taken and damaged far too many lives. To help address this issue, President Barack Obama sat down with Macklemore to deliver a message about opiod addiction and how far it can truly reach.

“Deaths from opioid overdoses have tripled since 2000. A lot of time, they’re from legal drugs prescribed from a doctor, so addiction doesn’t always start in some dark alley; it often starts in a medicine cabinet,” Obama said, the same day that he asked Congress a $1.1 billion to allow those addicted to opiods to seek treatment if needed, according to Rolling Stone.

Macklemore, who’s battled addiction in his own life, went on to speak on how addiction cost the life of a friend of his at the age of 21.

“Addiction is like any other disease: It doesn’t discriminate, it doesn’t care what color you are, whether you’re a guy or a girl, rich or poor, whether you live in an inner city, suburb or rural America,” Macklemore said. “This doesn’t just happen to other peoples’ kids or some other neighborhood; it can happen to any of us.”

Some have expressed concern that Macklemore has this kind of political access to address an issue which typically effects wealthier, white people. Meanwhile, young people of color struggle to gain recognition on a host if issues including school closures, segregation and gentrification, and police brutality.

What do you think?

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