ABC News' Pierre Thomas Was Shocked After Opioid Epidemic Report

ABC News chief justice correspondent Pierre Thomas has been doing in-depth reporting across the country on the opioid epidemic, working with ABC affiliates to determine how many overdoses occurred in a week’s time — the results were worse than he ever expected.

Thomas told TheWrap “the stunning availability of opioids–be it painkillers, heroin or fentanyl” was simply shocking.

“We were on one raid in Arizona with the DEA and Tempe police and authorities recovered what they believe was $1 million worth of heroin in a working class neighborhood that could be anywhere in the U.S.,” Thomas said.

Also Read: 'Morning Joe' Hosts: Time for Trump to Resign (Exclusive)

The ease of obtaining the drugs wasn’t the only thing that stunned Thomas. When speaking with family members, health care professionals and law enforcement officials, Thomas was surprised that “human loss” is such a common occurrence when studying the opioid epidemic. The crisis kills 91 Americans per day, according to their findings.

“According to the CDC, more than 30,000 people died of opioid overdoses in 2015. So many lives lost and so many being ruined,” he said.

Different states have different methods of reporting and it takes time for toxicology tests, making tracking opioid overdoses extremely complex — so the number might be even higher than reported.

Thomas feels that “aggressive enforcement” is the key to stop the problem, but “many in law enforcement admit you can’t arrest your way out of this crisis.”

“There is a need for treatment and a greater push for more public awareness among many other factors,” he said.

The special edition of “Nightline” airs on Wednesday, Aug. 23 on ABC.

16 'Morning Joe' Trump Insults That Got Personal, From 'Schmuck' to 'Jackass' (Photos)

President Trump recently received a ton of criticism for sending out a pair of tweets about MSNBC's "Morning Joe" hosts “Psycho” Joe Scarborough and “low I.Q. Crazy” Mika Brzezinski.

“She was bleeding badly from a face-lift,” he wrote of an encounter with Brzezinski he claims he had in Florida weeks before his inauguration.
TheWrap
While nothing can justify the president mocking a woman's appearance, the "Morning Joe" duo have been attacking Trump for months.

Check out 16 recent times the MSNBC stars said something that Trump could have taken personally.
MSNBC
They compared him to Kim Jong-un

“This is unprecedented, to have a president who behaves this way,” Brzezinski said on June 23. “It does feel like a developing dictatorship."

Also Read: ‘Morning Joe’ on Trump Administration: Feels Like a ‘Developing Dictatorship’ (Video)
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Brzezinski said Trump’s likes make her "uncomfortable"

“It’s so uncomfortable to see a president… lies, after lies, after lies from the president of the Unites States,” Brzezinski said on June 22.

Also Read: ‘Morning Joe': Mika Brzezinski Says Trump’s Lies Make Her ‘Uncomfortable’ (Video)
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Guest Donny Deutsch unloaded on Trump's appearance

Deutsch defended Brzezinski on June 30 following Donald Trump’s attacks on her, calling the president “physically disgusting to look at.”

Deutsch continued: “Enough is enough with this disgusting vulgar man and to talk about women that way, and the irony is you physically look like you do, beyond the stupidity of it. You are a pig."

Also Read: ‘Morning Joe’ Guest Donny Deutsch Unloads on Trump: ‘He’s Physically Disgusting to Look At’ (Video)
Getty
Brzezinski said what Bill Clinton was to sex, Trump is to "decency"

"What Bill Clinton did to the issue of sex to an entire generation, I believe this president is doing on issues of decency, on issues of conspiracy theories, on issues of fake news," Brzezinski said in June 15. "I think it's that simple and we're desensitized if we even argue it."

Also Read: ‘Morning Joe': Mika Brzezinski Says What Bill Clinton Was to Sex, Trump Is to ‘Decency’ (Video)
MSNBC
They claim the administration lacks "real men"

"If the president seems delusional about his accomplishments, you can point no further than that room," Brzezinski said in June 14. "There are no real men in the inner circle of the White House... none at all."

Also Read: ‘Morning Joe': Mika Brzezinski Says ‘There Are No Real Men’ on Trump’s Team (Video)
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Scarborough slammed Trump’s cabinet meeting

After Trump staffers praised the president during a cabinet meeting, Scarborough said on June 13 it “was the most sick, shameful, pathetic, un-American, autocratic display.”

He continued: “I will tell you if I were ever in meeting and people did that to me, I would say shut up and I would fire you.”

Also Read: ‘Morning Joe’ Rips Trump’s ‘Sick, Shameful, Pathetic, Un-American’ Cabinet Meeting (Video)
NBC
Brzezinski challenged Trump's mental health

Brzezinski called President Trump a “narcissist” and said it’s possible that he’s “mentally ill in a way” on June 8.

She continued: “I said it months ago… he’s not well. At the very least he’s not well and he’s so narcissistic that he does not believe the rules apply to him."

Also Read: ‘Morning Joe': Mika Brzezinski Rips Trump’s Mental Health, Joe Scarborough Wants None of It (Video)
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Scarborough called Trump a “schmuck”

“Donald Trump, again, being a schmuck, thinking he can buy people’s integrity by inviting them over to the White House and wowing them,” Scarborough said on June 7 when discussing a dinner party at the White House. “That’s how he thinks. I know that first hand.”

Also Read: ‘Morning Joe’ Calls Trump a ‘Schmuck': ‘I Know That First Hand’ (Video)
NBCNBC
Scarborough said Trump “is not a sane, rational human being”

“If any CEO, in a Fortune 500 company, was behaving this way, he or she would be removed immediately… they would take him out, he would have psychiatric evaluation and he would no longer be the CEO,” Scarborough said on June 6.

Also Read: ‘Morning Joe': If Trump Were CEO He’d Be ‘Removed Immediately’ For ‘Psychiatric Evaluation’ (Video)
NBC
Scarborough refers to "President Bannon"

Scarborough blasted “President Bannon” on June 2 for the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Accord on climate change — using the trolling phrase seven times in half a minute.

“Time magazine was right: Steve Bannon is the president of the United States,” the MSNBC host said, before launching into a 30-second monologue referencing “President Bannon” repeatedly.

Also Read: ‘Morning Joe’ Blasts ‘President Bannon’ for Trump’s Paris Accord Exit 7 Times in 30 Seconds (Video)
Getty
They compared Trump to a “kid pooping his pants”

The morning show played audio of Press Secretary Sean Spicer telling reporters during an off-camera gaggle that Trump’s “covfefe” tweet wasn’t a typo and Americans shouldn’t be concerned.

Brzezinski set up her fiancé, “You said… it’s like a kid pooping their pants and then saying, ‘I meant to do that.”

“Well yes. It would be like somebody pooping their pants and then people looking at it and saying ‘oh that’s modern art don’t you understand,'” Scarborough said on June 1.

Also Read: ‘Morning Joe’ Compares Trump to ‘A Kid Pooping His Pants’ (Video)
MSNBC
They called the president a “jackass”

Scarborough ripped Donald Trump on May 23, calling the president a “jackass” for continued attempts to squash the Russian investigation.

The panel even compared Trump to Lloyd Christmas, who was Jim Carey’s character in the film “Dumb and Dumber.”

Also Read: ‘Morning Joe’ Calls Trump a ‘Jackass,’ Compares Him to ‘Dumb and Dumber’ Character (Video)
Getty
Scarborough called Trump a “bumbling dope”

Scarborough called Trump a “bumbling dope” on May 11 because of the way a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister was handled.

“Looking at the front pages of the newspapers here… The Wall Street Journal also, you look, of course, at pictures. The shameful picture where the United States press corps was kept out but the Russians were allowed in,” Scarborough said while holding up the paper.

Also Read: ‘Morning Joe’ Calls Trump ‘Bumbling Dope’ For Letting Russian Reporters Into Oval Office
NBC
They compared Trump to someone with dementia

Scarborough ripped Donald Trump on May 2, saying the president’s comments about Andrew Jackson and the Civil War sound like someone with dementia.

“My mother’s has had dementia for 10 years,” Scarborough said. “That sounds like the sort of thing my mother would say today.”

Also Read: ‘Morning Joe’ Compares Trump to Someone With Dementia (Video)
Getty
They think the president watches too much TV

“He’s president of the United States and all he does is watch TV… and comment on it,” Scarborough said on April 3.

“This is very small behavior that is so unbecoming,” Brzezinski added. “He’s like a little kid.”

Also Read: ‘Morning Joe’ Rips Trump: ‘All He Does is Watch TV’ (Video)
NBC
They called Trump “stupid”

Scarborough slammed Trump on March 31, saying that Russians are lucky that POTUS is “stupid enough” to pick up their fake news.

“We’re obsessed on how the Russians have hacked, how the Russians have tried to impact this, how the Russians have tried to impact the White House,” Scarborough said. “We’re really just playing into their hands.”

Also Read: ‘Morning Joe’ Says Russia Got Lucky With a President ‘Stupid Enough’ to Believe Fake News (Video)
NBC

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MSNBC stars Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski attack the president on a daily basis

President Trump recently received a ton of criticism for sending out a pair of tweets about MSNBC's "Morning Joe" hosts “Psycho” Joe Scarborough and “low I.Q. Crazy” Mika Brzezinski.

“She was bleeding badly from a face-lift,” he wrote of an encounter with Brzezinski he claims he had in Florida weeks before his inauguration.

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16 'Morning Joe' Trump Insults That Got Personal, From 'Schmuck' to 'Jackass' (Photos)

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