English subtitles for clip: File:2016-05-14 President Obama's Weekly Address.webm

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The President:
Hi, everybody.

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I've got a special guest
with me this week - Macklemore.

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For those of you who don't
share the same love for

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hip-hop, he's a
Grammy-winning artist - but

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he's also an advocate who's
giving voice to a disease we

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too often just whisper
about:

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the disease of addiction.

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Macklemore: Hey, everybody.

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I'm here with President
Obama

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because I take this personally.

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I abused prescription drugs
and battled addiction.

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If I hadn't gotten the help
I needed when I needed it, I

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might not be here today.

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And I want to help others
facing

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the same challenges I did.

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The President: Drug
overdoses now take more

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lives every year than
traffic accidents.

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Deaths from opioid overdoses
have tripled since 2000.

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A lot of the time, they're
from legal drugs prescribed

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by a doctor.

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So addiction doesn't always
start in some dark alley -

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it often starts in
a medicine cabinet.

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In fact, a new study
released this month found

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that 44 percent of Americans
know someone who has been

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addicted to prescription
pain killers.

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Macklemore: I didn't just
know someone - I lost someone.

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My friend Kevin overdosed on
painkillers when he was

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just 21 years old.

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Addiction is like any
other disease

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- it doesn't discriminate.

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It doesn't care what color
you are, whether you're a

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guy or a girl, rich or poor,
whether you live in the

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inner-city, a suburb,
or rural America.

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This doesn't just happen to
other people's kids or in

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some other neighborhood.

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It can happen to any of us.

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The President: That's why
just talking about this

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crisis isn't enough - we
need to get treatment to

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more people who need it.

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My administration is working
with communities to reduce

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overdose deaths, including
with medication.

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We're working with law
enforcement to help people

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get into treatment
instead of jail.

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And under Obamacare, health
plans in the Marketplace

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have to include
coverage for treatment.

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Macklemore: I know recovery
isn't easy or quick, but

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along with the 12-step
program, treatment

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has saved my life.

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Recovery works - and we need
our leaders in Washington

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fund it and people
know how to find it.

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The President: We all need
to do more

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to make that happen.

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I've asked Congress to
expand access to recovery

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services, and to give first
responders the tools they

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need to treat overdoses
before it's too late.

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This week, the House passed
several bills about opioids

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- but unless they also make
actual investments in more

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treatment, it won't get
Americans

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the help they need.

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On top of funding, doctors
also need more training

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about the power of the pain
medication they prescribe,

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and the risks they carry.

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Another way our country can
help those suffering in

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private is to make this
conversation public.

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Macklemore: When you're
going through it, it's hard

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to imagine there could
be anything

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worse than addiction.

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But shame and the stigma
associated with the disease

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keeps too many people from
seeking the help they need.

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Addiction isn't a personal
choice

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or a personal failing.

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And sometimes it takes more
than a strong will to get

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better - it takes a strong
community

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and accessible resources.

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The President: The good
news is, there's hope.

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When we talk about opioid
abuse as the public health

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problem it is, more people
will seek the help they need.

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More people will find the
strength to recover, just

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like Macklemore and
millions of Americans have.

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We'll see fewer preventable
deaths

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and fewer broken families.

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Macklemore: We have to tell
people who need help that

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it's OK to ask for it.

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We've got to make sure
they know where to get it.

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The President: We all
have a role to play.

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Even if we haven't fought
this battle in our own

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lives, there's a good chance
we know someone who has,

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or who is.

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Macklemore: President Obama
and I just had a powerful

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conversation here at the
White House about opioid

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abuse, and what we
can do about it.

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You can catch it
this summer on MTV.

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And to find treatment
in your area, call

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1-800-662-HELP.

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The President: Thanks,
and have a great weekend.