Lawrence Mayor: Drug Shaming Is Not The Answer

LAWRENCE, MA (WBZ-AM) -- After spending the day in New Hampshire President Trump said the country needs a public relations push to convince kids not to start using drugs he outlined his plan for fighting the opioid crisis.

In his address President Trump called out the City of Lawrence, MA as one of the contributing factors of the opioid crisis.

Lawrence Mayor Daniel Rivera tells WBZ NewsRadio1030's Laurie Kirby that the President missed an opportunity to deal with the problem and that shaming a city doesn't 

"What bothers me the most is that you know drugs shaming a city is not going to solve the problem," Rivera said. 

Rivera said what has worked in the past was "police officers on the street practicing community policing jobs for inner city kids and treatment, treatment, treatment," he said.

Rivera said that out of all the things the President talked about in his speech none were in commission report on how to make the drug epidemic go away.

" it's a lost opportunity. The President has an opportunity to deal with a problem and when he doesn't give a campaign speech, it's a problem especially when it when he drug shaming in a community we know the answer is more global," He said.

Rivera tells WBZ NewsRadio that he extended an open invitation Lawrence to The President to look at the face of the opioid crisis.

You can listen to the full interview with WBZ NewsRadio1030's Laurie Kirby below


View Full Site