Trump just promised a "ruthless" war on drugs.

— Radley Balko (@radleybalko) February 8, 2017

In a speech to the Major Cities Chiefs Association this morning President Trump said it’s time to stop the flow of drugs into the United States. Fighting the illegal drug trade has proven to be an intractable problem for decades and many people say that the “war on drugs” has been lost, or at least that it is not winnable.  Citing his border wall as a solution along with confidence in DHS Secretary Kelly, Trump apparently believes he will succeed where everyone else has failed.

The continuation of the drug war will probably get a lot of criticism from the right where the policy has become very unpopular with the libertarian wing. Some of Trump’s comments naturally drew immediate fire from the left.

Trump’s insistence that our opioid epidemic is an issue of “drugs pouring over the border” bodes ill for actually improving the situation.

— dismantle the mpd (@anamariecox) February 8, 2017

Wow. Trump promises to be "ruthless" in fight against drugs, echoing Duterte's murderous crusade in the Philippines.

— Christopher Ingraham (@_cingraham) February 8, 2017

Trump told the law enforcement leaders that the wall is “being designed right now.” Will it accomplish all the things he’s promising? We’ll have to wait and see.