President Donald Trump on Thursday declared widespread opioid abuse a public health emergency, whileresisting a controversial move that might have tapped federal fundssought by hurricane-stricken Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico.

Trump also said he would use the federal government’s legalpowers to pursue companies that helped fuel the epidemic.

"We will be bringing some very major lawsuits against people andagainst companies that are hurting our people," Trump said ina speech at the White House on Thursday.

Shortly before Trump spoke, federal authorities announced racketeering conspiracy and otherfelony charges against Insys Therapeutics Inc. founder John Kapoorand other company executives, accusing them of helping fuel theepidemic by bribing doctors to prescribe a powerful form offentanyl to patients who didn’t need the potent drug.

Trump's declaration follows months of debate inside and outsidegovernment over whether to use emergency funds typically reservedfor hurricanes or flu epidemics to deal with a more intractablecrisis; leave it for Congress to act; or pursue a combination ofexecutive orders, emergency spending and legislation.

“Families, communities and citizens across our country arecurrently dealing with the worst drug crisis in our nation’shistory,” Trump said. “Addressing will require all of oureffort.”

The declaration allows temporary appointments of specialistsunder federal grants to crisis areas, but it doesn’t createadditional funding, three senior White House officials said on acall with reporters. Trump wants to include money for theeffort in an end-of-year budget deal. To do that, theadministration will need to have an “ongoing discussion” withCongress about funding, one official said.

The opioid epidemic has emerged as one of thenation’s most pressing public health matters, claiming a life every19 minutes, according to the U.S. Surgeon General. Cost estimatesrange, but a study last year in the Medical Care Journal put theeconomic cost of opioid overdose, abuse and dependence at $78.5billion.

Trump signed a memorandum calling on Acting Secretary of Healthand Human Services Eric Hargan to declare an emergency underthe Public Health Service Act, waiving certain regulations andallowing states greater leeway in how they use federal funds tocombat the epidemic, the officials said. The emergency lasts 90days and can be renewed indefinitely.

Trump laid out his plan in a speech Thursday at the White House.He invited recovering addicts, first responders and some lawmakersto attend. First Lady Melania Trump has also begun speakingpublicly on the issue, and administration officials will hit theroad Friday to visit some of the nation’s most affected areas.

Opioid abuse has been a concern for decades but has spiraled asdoctors more liberally prescribed painkillers such as oxycodone.The crisis is a tangle of issues from addiction to treatment toenforcement to regulatory policy involving drugmakers and diplomacywith other nations where opioids are manufactured.

Several states, counties and cities have sued drugmakers anddistributors, saying the companies could have done more to stop it,given their position in the drug supply chain. Unlike suits broughtagainst tobacco makers that resulted in a $246 billion settlementin 1999, cases focusing on opioids are targeting agovernment-regulated product.

"The opioid crisis is not like a natural disaster whereby itonly occurs during a finite period of time and a recovery can beclearly defined," said Rafael Lemaitre, a former top spokesman atthe White House Drug Policy Office and former director of publicaffairs at Federal Emergency Management Agency during the Obamaadministration. "Declaring a national emergency is not a silverbullet solution. Symbolically it’s important and it may help aroundthe edges but at the end of the day you need a comprehensivelegislative package from Congress with its own dedicated stream offunding to make a difference."

Lemaitre said there needs to be increased regulation of theindustry particularly when it comes to the wholesale shipment ofprescription drugs, and the Drug Enforcement Agency needs to beempowered to go after manufacturers who break the law. Foreignpolicy is also important, he said, noting that much of the opioidfentanyl is coming from China. "There’s an internationalcooperation component here," Lemaitre said. "It’s verycomplicated."

Trump said that he will raise the issue with Chinese PresidentXi Jinping as a “top priority” when he visits Asia next month. “Andhe will do something about it,” Trump said.

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