ROSENTHAL REPORTS
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IS AWOL ON THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC
No new funding proposals forthcoming in the State of the Union
National health emergency renewed without clear strategy or leadership
The Rosenthal Center proposes a long-term action plan to end the epidemic
At a time when 175 Americans die every day from a drug overdose, it was discouraging that President Trump’s State of the Union on January 30th touched only briefly on the opioid crisis and failed to include any proposal for additional funding to fight this national epidemic. The president said he was committed to helping get treatment “for those who have been so terribly hurt” by addiction, but offered neither a clear strategy nor more money. Instead, he signaled approval of the law-and-order approach being pursued by attorney General Jeff Sessions, vowing to “get much tougher on drug dealers and pushers if we are going to succeed in stopping this scourge.”
Trump’s declaration of an opioid public health emergency in October was a promising but ultimately empty gesture, as no significant resources or major initiatives followed. While a few important steps have been taken – including the crackdown on illegal shipments of the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl, and relaxing restrictions on reimbursements to large substance abuse treatment facilities - the administration has largely ignored the excellent recommendations of the White House special opioid commission.
Moreover, the post of permanent “drug czar” at the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) remains vacant and the administration has threatened to drastically reduce the agency’s budget. Grants from the $1 billion 21st Century Cures Act failed to prioritize states hit hardest by the epidemic. Law enforcement and border controls are important, of course, but they are not the solution to this crisis: 40 percent of drug overdose deaths in 2016 involved a prescription opioid, according to the CDC.
The opioid crisis status as national public health emergency was recently renewed for another 90 days, providing a window of opportunity to end policy paralysis. The Rosenthal Center believes the administration should now set out an aggressive national agenda with the following achievable goals:
Appoint a qualified “drug czar” and support the existing senior staff at ONDCP and increase its budget to ensure this important office can properly coordinate drug policy across the many federal agencies engaged in drug control activities. Maintain ONDCP control over appropriate funds in other federal agencies.
Immediately allocate a 50 percent to 100 percent increases in the federal Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grants to the states, to support their anti-drug programs.
Implement such recommendations of the White House opioid commission as wider use of drug courts, stricter prescription drug monitoring, improving doctor and professional training, and making overdose reversal drugs more available.
Work with Congress to approve a $100 billion long-term spending bill over the next decade with a focus on education, prevention and appropriate treatment, including the expansion of Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) with behavioral therapy and long-term residential treatment as essential components.
President Trump concluded his brief remarks about the opioid epidemic by saying, “the struggle will be long and it will be difficult – but, as Americans always do, in the end, we will succeed, we will prevail.” This is true. There is hope. But only if we have the commitment, consensus and the willingness to take action – and pay for it.