Federal officials received a 70-page report earlier this month from the Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking. In it, authors detailed a multi-faceted approach necessary to defeat the substance abuse and overdose epidemic once and for all.

It should come as no surprise that one of the five “pillars” of government action recommended by the report included beefing up bureaucracy.

This is what the folks in Washington, D.C. say government must do:

≤ Elevate the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy to act as the nerve center for far-flung federal efforts, and restore Cabinet rank to its director.

≤ Disrupt the supply of drugs through better coordinated law enforcement actions.

≤ Reduce the demand for illicit drugs through treatment and by efforts to mitigate the harm to people addicted. Treatment programs should follow science-based “best practices.”

≤ Use diplomacy to enlist help from other governments in cutting off the supply of chemicals that criminal networks use to manufacture fentanyl.

≤ Develop surveillance and data analysis tools to spot new trends in illicit drug use before they morph into major problems for society.

One wonders how much it cost taxpayers to produce such a “keep doing what you’re doing, but more” document.

Meanwhile, there are glaring omissions in tackling the root cause of the epidemic, though perhaps it is because government cannot do the kind of heavy lifting involved. Officials — and communities — must work to reverse the socio-cultural norms that foster addiction in the first place, and develop a diversified and healthy economy that lifts those who have struggled for generations.

Rep. David Trone, D-Maryland, a co-chair of the panel that produced the report, was talking about bipartisanship when he said, “We have to take this toxic atmosphere in Washington and move past it.”

But the same could be said for the populations in our country hardest hit by this epidemic.

They’ve got to move past the toxic and hopeless conditions that have allowed this epidemic to fester for a decade now. Government has a role to play, yes. But families, churches, schools, local development officials and employers need an attitude adjustment on the matter, too.

If we are all fighting this, it can’t win.