WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump on Thursday will declare opioid addiction a “public health emergency,” seeking to elevate the crisis within his administration without an immediate provision of additional funds.

The description stops short of the “national emergency” designation that Mr. Trump had said over the summer he would apply to the epidemic of abuse and overdose of the powerful drugs.

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A White House commission on the opioid crisis led by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie,  a onetime Republican rival and subsequent backer of Mr. Trump, suggested over the summer that the president declare a national emergency using a designation typically used to organize federal assistance for natural disasters.

Declaring such an emergency under the Public Health Service Act, or the Stafford Act, would “empower your cabinet to take bold steps and would force Congress to focus on funding and empowering the executive branch even further to deal with this loss of life,” Mr. Christie’s commission said.

Mr. Trump had announced his plans to follow through on the recommendation while on a summer “working vacation” at his New Jersey golf club. Senior administration officials said Thursday that after reviewing the legal authorities offered by each option, they had concluded that a public health emergency declaration was more fitting for an ongoing crisis.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/president-trump-to-announce-opioid-crisis-a-public-health-emergency-1509024286