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05.15.2016

Macklemore Joins President Obama to Talk About Opioid Addiction

obamamacklemoreIn President Obama’s Weekly Address he decided to focus on substance abuse, taking on the topic of prescription opioids in particular. Joining him was Grammy award-winning artist Macklemore, who has previously shared information about his own recovery.

The President made it a point to discuss the rising statistics surrounding painkiller addiction by stating that overdose deaths have tripled since 2000. “A lot of the time, they’re from legal drugs prescribed by a doctor. So addiction doesn’t always start in some dark alley – it often starts in a medicine cabinet,” he said.

Adding to this, Macklemore said that he lost a friend of his to a painkiller overdose when he was 21. “Addiction is like any other disease,” said the artist, “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 the inner-city, a suburb, or rural America. This doesn’t just happen to other people’s kids or in some other neighborhood.”

Macklemore stated that a treatment program and the 12 steps helped to save his life many years ago. Being a role model for millions of fans gives him the chance to be a strong advocate for recovery as well as substance abuse prevention.

A more in-depth interview between the two will air this summer on MTV as part of a special show about addiction.