Soaring Drug Deaths Prompt $4B Investment in Treatment-Based Practices, Enforcement
As drug overdose deaths topped 95,000 in the 12 months ending in January, the Biden administration has launched a $4 billion investment under the American Rescue Plan Act to improve access to addiction and harm reduction services.
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As the number of drug overdose deaths hit a new high, topping 95,000 in the 12 months ending in January, according to provisional data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Biden administration has launched a $4 billion investment under the American Rescue Plan Act to improve access to addiction and harm reduction services, reports Pew Stateline. Federal regulatory changes aimed at stemming drug deaths include relaxed rules for prescribing the FDA-approved addiction treatment drug buprenorphine, repeal of a decade-long prohibition on addiction treatment provided from mobile medical units and allowing federal funds to be used to distribute fentanyl test strips to illicit drug users.
The administration also said it would expand its High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas drug control program to all 50 states and the District of Columbia, bringing together local and regional drug intelligence and public health officials to share information and develop intervention and support services that reduce drug overdoses. Nationwide, overdose deaths increased 31 percent during the pandemic, compared with the year before, fueled largely by the presence of the potent opioid fentanyl in heroin, methamphetamines and other illicit drugs. The jump in the number of drug deaths exceeded 50 percent in Vermont, Kentucky, South Carolina, Louisiana, West Virginia and California.
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