President Donald Trump vowed Wednesday to increase federal efforts to confront opioid addiction as his administration created a commission to study ways to expand treatment programs across the nation.

In a meeting with recovering addicts and advocates at the White House, the president said opioid and heroin addiction had become "a crippling problem" and he repeatedly said he was frustrated the issue hadn't received more attention.

"Drug cartels have spread their deadly industry across our nation, and the availability of cheap narcotics, some of it comes in cheaper than candy, has devastated our communities," said Trump, who also raised the issue during his campaign last year. "Nobody really wants to talk about it."

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"Any attention to the public health emergency of opioid addiction is important; hearing the president talk about addressing the opioid crisis is important," said Dr. Leana Wen, Baltimore's health commissioner.

"But we need to move beyond rhetoric," she said. "We know what works when it comes to treating the disease of addiction. We now need the resources to be able to combat this epidemic."

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