HHS awards $1.5B to help states address drug addiction

By Brianna Ehley, POLITICO

08/27/2020 06:43 PM EDT

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Thursday awarded $1.5 billion in grants to help states and tribes combat the drug addiction crisis, which has grown worse amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The funding is the latest batch of state opioid response grants meant to expand access to treatment and prevention services, set up harm reduction programs like needle exchanges and hire addiction treatment providers in severe shortage.

A broader scope: States were previously required to use the grants specifically for opioid efforts as Congress focused on that long-running epidemic. But states can use the new funding tranche to address stimulants and other substance use disorders, as deaths linked to methamphetamine have increased.

Overdose deaths are rising across the country, following a historic decline in 2018. Preliminary CDC data shows drug overdose deaths hit a record high in 2019, with roughly 71,000 overdose fatalities, and states and the federal government have reported early data showing a spike this year amid the pandemic.

Trump’s campaign pledge: The drug epidemic has been a key focus for the Trump administration, and the president is likely to tout those efforts when he addresses the Republican National Convention this evening. President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign pledge to defeat the opioid epidemic resonated in hard-hit states. In the past three years, the administration and Congress have spent more than $21 billion on the issue, according to figures from the Office of National Drug Control Policy.s-announces-15-billion-for-states-to-address-drug-addiction-9424025