Story highlights "You know what? If you work all day long, you don't have time to do heroin," Paul said

The Republican presidential candidate frequently argues that more people in America need to be working

Manchester, New Hampshire (CNN) Rand Paul argued in New Hampshire Wednesday that the heroin epidemic in the United States could be solved in part by putting people back to work.

"People always come up to me and say, 'We got heroin problems and all these other problems.' You know what? If you work all day long, you don't have time to do heroin," the Kenutcky senator said to applause while holding a meet-and-greet at the Airport Diner in Manchester.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced in July that deaths from heroin-related overdoses nearly quadrupled between 2002 and 2013 in the U.S. And the issue has become a huge topic in New Hampshire, which has especially seen the problem spread -- though the state's unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the country at 3.7%.

The Republican presidential candidate frequently argues that more people in America need to be working, "not as a punishment, as a reward." He reiterated those sentiments Wednesday, saying the opportunity to work is a fundamental value in the United States.

"We need to attach work to everything. I don't think any able-bodied person in America should get a penny unless they work. No handouts, no gifts, no welfare. Everything should have work," Paul said to more applause.

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