TODAY: Join CEPOP All-Participants Meeting at 3PM Eastern with Presentations from SAMHSA and CDC
CEPOP will be hosting its March All-Participants Teleconference today at 3:00 pm ET. Today’s meeting includes presentations from Dr. Robert Baillieu from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to share updates on the Medications for the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder final rule. Dr. Shannon Casillas also joins us from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to discuss study findings. Please contact Sanjyot Sangodkar for meeting details.
President’s FY25 Budget Increases Funding for Mental Health and Substance Use Services
Earlier this month, the President released his budget for fiscal year 2025, including more than 8.1 billion to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The SAMHSA budget reflects a $612 million increase from the fiscal year 2023 enacted budget. The increase in funding is intended to target key programs to tackle and respond to the drug crisis, which includes the State Opioid Response (SOR) grant program, Community Harm Reduction, and Engagement Initiatives, and programming dedicated to pregnant and postpartum women. The State Opioid Response Grant program saw increases of $20 million, bringing the total to $1.6 billion, with $60 million dedicated to tribal programs. Additionally, the SOR can be used to advance and enhance stimulant treatment programs. The new Community Harm Reduction and Engagement Activities program will receive $10 million to address gaps in substance use care, support broad-based community care, and link people to services. Finally, research from 2023 showed a massive need to improve treatment and care for pregnant and postpartum women. The budget includes funding programs with a family-centered approach to provide residential and outpatient treatments to pregnant and postpartum women, their minor children, and other family members.
Articles & Resources
SAMHSA—SAMHSA’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Seeks $8.1 Billion to Support Mental Health and Substance Use Services Across the United States
END FENTANYL Act Signed Into Law
The Eradicating Narcotic Drugs and Formulating Effective New Tools to Address National Yearly Losses of Life (END FENTANYL) Act, was signed into law by President Biden on March 21. The bipartisan act requires Customs and Border Protection to update their policies at least once every three years to ensure the procedure remains current, and report those changes to Congress. Senator Mark Kelly (AZ), a cosponsor of the Act, commented on it becoming law, “ The END FENTANYL Act is a significant step in the fight against fentanyl trafficking and other deadly drugs that have caused so much harm to Arizona families. It’s an example of the important progress we can make when we work in a bipartisan way. As a border senator, I will continue supporting border communities and ensuring that law enforcement has the tools to go after criminals trafficking drugs and stop fentanyl from making its way into our communities.”
Articles & Resources
S.206—END FENTANYL Act
What We Read Last Week
Several articles were published last week pertaining to the opioid epidemic, covering a variety of different components of the topic. Links to relevant articles are provided below.
Axios—New laws aim to prevent youth opioid overdoses in Washington
Bloomberg—Swing-State Voters Fixate on Fentanyl in US Presidential Race
CBS—U.K. cracks down on synthetic opioid 10 times stronger than fentanyl causing overdoses in Europe
Forbes—New Non-Opioid Pain Meds Hold Promise, But Face Clinical Development and Insurer Challenges
NPR—Blinken warns deadly fentanyl crisis will spread globally
STAT—The War on Recovery: Part 3
Vox—Psychedelics are about to become a casualty of Oregon’s opioid crises
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.
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