President Donald Trump on Thursday afternoon signed an executive order that establishes the "White House Great American Recovery Initiative," to combat drug and alcohol addiction.

The new initiative aims to boost awareness about drug addiction and advise federal agencies on directing grants to support addiction recovery. 

Trump during his first term vowed to end the opioid crisis and has spoken before about how he lost his brother Fred to a heart attack that was linked to alcoholism.

“Many of those with me today have personally known the heartache of a loved one taken by drug or alcohol addiction," Trump said during the executive order signing ceremony. "I do, just like millions of American families.

"Every year we lose an estimated 300,000 people to drug and alcohol abuse," Trump continued. "And the real number is probably much, much higher than that. Thankfully, drug overdose deaths plummeted by 21% in the last year. We're working very hard on it.

"We've closed the southern border, seized over 47 million fentanyl pills and 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder. That's a record," he added.

The initiative will be led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and White House Senior Advisor for Addiction Recovery Kathryn Burgum. There will also be 15 people on the board, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and Director of National Drug Control Policy Sara Carter.

"Addiction is not a moral failure," Kennedy said. "It is a disease. It's chronic. It's treatable. And for too long, our nation has responded with fragmentation, with stigmatization and silence instead of science, compassion and coordination."

Kennedy vowed to treat addiction as the health community treats other chronic diseases, through "evidence-based care, modern science and continuous support." 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.