The Justice Department has awarded more than $300 million in grants to programs fighting against opioid and stimulant abuse, a crisis that has seen overdose deaths increase by 28.5% since April 2021, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates there have been 100,306 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. since last April, a U.S. Department of Justice press release said. The Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) hopes that the grants, along with an additional $34 million to assist communities in responding to public health emergencies, will help significantly towards addressing the crisis.
“Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the nation is experiencing a precipitous rise in opioid and stimulant misuse and overdoses," Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in the release. “The Justice Department is committed to supporting programs aimed at addressing the substance use crisis that is devastating communities across the nation.”
One of the grant recipients is the Harold Rogers Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, which “enhances the capacity of regulatory and law enforcement agencies and public health officials to collect and analyze controlled substance prescription data and other scheduled chemical products through a centralized database administered by an authorized agency,” the release said. The program will receive $29.6 million.
The Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners Program, which helps states “develop and implement residential substance use treatment programs, including medication-assisted treatment within correctional and detention facilities,” will receive a similar grant, the news release said.
“The substance use crisis in American society has been a persistent and deadly problem for decades, and illicitly manufactured fentanyl and synthetic opioids have tightened the grip drugs have on our society,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Amy L. Solomon for OJP said in the release. “The Biden-Harris Administration is working diligently to address these problems by committing unprecedented levels of funding toward research, substance use treatment and mental health services, along with investments in enforcement, response and evidence-based treatment.”
