President Biden Announces Inaugural Drug Control Policy
More than a year after the Biden administration first submitted a list of drug policy priorities to Congress, the White House has released a more substantive document outlining how it intends to implement a nationwide strategy to tackle the addiction and overdose crises. With overdose fatalities at record levels—more than 105,000 have died over the past 12 months—the government aims to save lives by simultaneously expanding harm-reduction measures and access to drug treatment, while at the same time reducing the supply of illicit drugs through targeted law enforcement. It’s a comprehensive, well-thought-out strategy with wide-ranging measures that would provide a continuum of care for those struggling with substance use—and if instituted, has a good chance of reducing surging overdoses and high levels of addiction.
It starts with prevention and early intervention, with a focus on adolescents and the social factors that put youth more at risk. Harm reduction is another key component, including increasing the availability of overdose-reversal medications, syringe-exchange programs, and drug-testing strips. Recognizing that reducing harm is only the first step toward recovery, the strategy rightly calls for substantially expanding access to quality treatment, noting that only a tiny fraction of the 20 million people living in the U.S. who need it are currently receiving much-needed treatment. Another element of the strategy entails building a “recovery-ready nation,” with programs to eliminate barriers to safe and supportive housing, education, and employment for people in recovery. And finally, it calls for combating both cultivated and synthetic drug production and trafficking—an effort to stop the flow of deadly fentanyl that now accounts for the majority of overdose deaths.
To help accomplish these goals, the strategy smartly maps out plans to train and build a treatment workforce to address shortages, expand treatment infrastructure at community health centers and in rural areas, and finance peer recovery support services—a critical factor in recovery. Equally important, it focuses attention on criminal justice reform to ensure that, among the 2.3 million people in federal, state, and local corrections facilities—as well as the roughly 8 million who cycle through short-term incarceration in jails—those with substance use disorder have access to drug treatment.
If implemented, these programs would have far-reaching benefits. They would not only help to reduce overdose deaths, but also establish a national infrastructure of services, care, and support that is sorely lacking. I have advocated for many of these measures—including in our criminal justice initiative that would pilot a peer-counseling model for the incarcerated from prison through release.
It’s not clear how many of these programs would be funded. While the administration has allocated $4 billion as part of the American Rescue Plan for substance abuse services, more would be needed. Also, I would rather it had made a stronger statement about creating a pathway from harm reduction to treatment, instead of merely noting that they should be “linked.” Still, the administration is finally showing real leadership regarding the addiction and overdose crises, with a strategy that shows great promise.
