2024 CNN Town Hall: on Drugs

Chris Christie: End the war on drugs, it's a disease; focus on treatment

CHRISTIE: End it. I want to focus on treatment. It is a disease and can be treated. It's not easy, but neither is treatment for cancer or heart disease in many cases. We need to make treatment broadly available to everyone who is addicted, because with Medicaid Assisted Treatment, with talk therapy, with those things combined, we can save not every life, but many of those lives.

Nikki Haley: Marijuana isn't like heroin, but let states decide

HALEY: I mean, I think I'll go with the scientists on that. I think it's obviously not in the same class as heroin. But I also think when you're looking at the legalization of this, I want states to be able to decide that. That's something that should be as close to the people as possible. Some states are all for it and want to see that happen, and some states want nothing to do with it. But I do think that should be a state decision on whether they legalize it or not.

Nikki Haley: Fentanyl via northern border too; create addiction centers

What I have found out from New Hampshire is, we don't talk enough about the northern border. The southern border is in terrible shape, but 500 people on the terrorist watch list, have come through the northern border. You look at the fentanyl and all that. I learned that from [New Hampshire], because you have been affected by it every day.

America refuses to deal with addictions, which we have to deal with. And there are answers to this. Let's release [federal] resources, so that every state can do what they need to, to get the mental health facilities that we need to have in our states, to have the addiction centers.