Sixx:A.M. and former Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx has slammed the Trump administration’s handling of the opioid crisis in the U.S.
“Heroin nearly killed me. As a matter of fact, it did,” the 58-year-old rock star wrote in an op-ed piece for the Los Angeles Times.
“For two minutes in 1987 I was pronounced clinically dead from an overdose.”
Sixx, whose real name is Frank Feranna, Jr., said his experience qualifies him to “judge the way the United States is handling its latest addiction crisis.”
He added: “Opioid abuse isn’t just making addicts sick, it’s making America sick.”
Sixx criticized U.S. president Donald Trump for cutting the 2018 Medicaid budget and attorney general Jeff Sessions for threatening to put drug addicts in prison instead of recovery programs.
“Trump makes a show of concern. He convened a commission in March charged with studying the problem, and he has promised to declare opioid addiction a national emergency, which would free up resources for the battle,” wrote Sixx. “But he has failed to file the proper paperwork.”
Sixx urged the U.S. Congress and Trump administration to approve adequate funding for Medicaid.
“Of the 2 million Americans in treatment for opioid addiction, approximately 30% receive Medicaid,” he explained. “We must not make it harder for the most vulnerable addicts to obtain treatment.”