"We don't know everything," he said. "There may be genetic components. Addictions may be different for different people. What we do know is there are steps that can be taken to get through addiction and get to the other side, and that is under-resourced."

Obama's words do not mark a dramatic departure from what he has said in previous years about drug abuse. What is significant, instead, is that his view on drugs is increasingly mainstream, embraced by members of Congress in both parties who are being pressured to act by communities in their districts ravaged by opioid addiction. Indeed, the summit Obama was attending was set up by Rep. Hal Rogers, a Kentucky Republican.

In addition to requesting more than $1 billion from Congress in additional funding to combat opioid abuse, the president last week authorized the Department of Health and Human Services to disburse over $100 million to states and treatment centers throughout the country.

Those funds are to be aimed specifically at increasing medical treatment of addiction, through buprenorphine or similar drugs that can work to reduce opioid dependence. Recently, many treatment advocates have said that the classic emphasis on cold turkey or abstinence-based treatment simply does not work for many addicts.

The Obama administration has also authorized physicians to prescribe buprenorphine up to 200 patients, or double the previous limit.