DEA to Present at January CEPOP All-Participants Meeting

CEPOP will be hosting its January All-Participants Teleconference on January 31st at 3:00pm EST. This month’s meeting will include a presentation from Sean Fearns, Chief of Community Outreach and Prevention Support at the Drug Enforcement Administration, on the agency’s overdose prevention efforts.

CEPOP All-Participants Teleconference (January 2022)

  • To join WebEx, please CLICK HERE
  • Or, to join via conference call:
    • Conference Line: (855) 244-8681
    • Participant Code: 299 655 082

HHS to Provide $13M to Address Behavioral Health Care Challenges in Rural Communities

On January 18th, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it will award $13 million to address key rural health issues, including increasing access to behavioral health care services, addressing health inequities, and promoting evidence-based, trauma-informed treatment for substance use disorder. The funding opportunity will be available through the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, which will distribute the awards through the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program’s Behavioral Health Care Support. Rural Health Clinics, federally recognized tribes, tribal organizations, and community- and faith-based organizations are eligible to apply for funding. In a press release, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said, “This investment is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to address the inequities that still exist surrounding behavioral health and advance care in rural America. It will support comprehensive behavioral health prevention, treatment, harm reduction and recovery interventions in rural communities – furthering the goals of our new overdose prevention strategy.”

Articles & Resources

HHS – HHS Announces Availability of $13 Million to Increase Behavioral Health Care Access in Rural Communities


Lawmakers Request Information from Social Media CEOs on Actions Taken to Curb Online Opioid Sales

On January 19th, in response to the rise in children and teenagers accessing counterfeit pills through social media platforms, Representative Gus Bilirakis (FL-12) and Senator Rick Scott (FL) sent a letter to the chief executive officers (CEOs) of social media platforms Meta Platforms, Inc., WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Snap Inc., and TikTok requesting information about the actions each company is taking to stop illegal drug sales. In their letter, the lawmakers propose that the companies implement a Trusted Reporter program with local, state, and federal entities to help monitor platform accounts engaging in illegal drug sales and trafficking. The lawmakers request that, by January 31st, the CEOs send information on how many accounts were found, both by platform users and the company itself, to be advertising counterfeit pills, whether accounts mentioning counterfeit pills or fentanyl are referred to law enforcement and to which law enforcement entities, whether account holders are notified if they are being investigated, the number of subpoenas the company has received related to the sale and distribution of drugs and the response time to subpoenas, and the companies’ efforts to use the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Emoji Drug Code and promote the One Pill Can Kill campaign. A copy of the letter can be found here.

Articles & Resources

Congressman Gus Bilirakis – Rep. Gus Bilirakis and Sen. Rick Scott Question Big Tech CEOs on Actions to Stop the Opioid Crisis


What We Read Last Week

Several articles were published last week pertaining to the opioid epidemic, covering a variety of different components of the issue. Links to relevant articles are provided below.

AEH – Institute Launches Office-Based Addiction Treatment Learning Collaborative

Chicago Sun Times – As opioid overdose deaths hit new record, pressure grows for safe places to inject drugs in Chicago

Cleveland.com­­ – Ohio doctors, pharmacists cut back on the dispensing of prescription opioids in 2021, continuing a yearslong trend

Health Affairs – Strengthening Patient-Centered Addiction And Mental Health Care In The United States

NIH – Offering buprenorphine medication to people with opioid use disorder in jail may reduce rearrest and reconviction

Penn Nursing – Addressing Substance Use and Pain Key to Limiting Self-Directed Hospital Discharge

Pew Research Center – Recent surge in U.S. drug overdose deaths has hit Black men the hardest

RAPS – Califf previews priorities if confirmed as FDA commissioner

The Economist – What is naloxone, and how does it reverse opioid overdoses?


This Week’s Calendar

In the week ahead, there are no relevant events or hearings noticed at this time. In the event that there are any changes to the schedule for this week, we will make additional information available.


Questions about the above content can be directed to sanjyot.sangodkar@faegredrinker.com.