Office is in charge of coordinating comprehensive response to substance abuse issues, including opioid crisis that killed more than 33,000 in U.S. in 2015
Washington (February 27, 2017) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today sent a letter to President Donald Trump calling on him to protect the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) as the nation combats the worst opioid crisis in its history. Media has reported that President Trump is considering elimination of the federal coordinating office. ONDCP is tasked with ensuring that the federal government’s substance abuse goals and objectives are continuously monitored and evaluated for success. ONDCP plays a critical role in ensuring that individual agency strategies to combat opioid and substance misuse and abuse are complementary and comprehensive. More than 33,000 Americans died of an opioid overdose in 2015, and it is estimated that in Massachusetts more than 2,000 residents died from opioid overdoses in 2016. Over a one-year period, from 2014 to 2015, deaths from the synthetic opioid fentanyl and related substances increased more than 72 percent.
“As a matter of health and public safety policy, the federal government should be increasing the resources it devotes to combatting this epidemic through interdiction, prevention, and treatment, and should be exploring new resources that could be devoted to significantly reducing deaths from opioid overdoses,” writes Senator Markey in the letter to President Trump. “ONDCP provides that hope through its effective leadership, oversight, and emphasis on ensuring that programs in response to the opioid crisis include treatment, prevention, and recovery, in addition to law enforcement activities.”
Full text of Senator Markey’s letter can be found below.
February 27, 2017
The Honorable Donald Trump
President of the United States of America
The White House
Dear Mr. President:
I am writing in response to reports that your administration is considering eliminating the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). It is troubling that, in the midst of a massive and deadly opioid drug crisis, your administration would consider any plan that would reduce funding, coordination, or oversight of programs integral to ensuring an effective response for the American people.
Our country is in the throes of an opioid epidemic that claimed the lives of more than 33,000 Americans in 2015. It is estimated that in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts more than 2,000 residents died from opioid overdoses in 2016. The onslaught of fentanyl entering our country from China and Mexico is resulting in a dramatic increase in fatal opioid overdoses. Over a one-year period, from 2014 to 2015, deaths from fentanyl and related substances increased more than 72 percent. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is fifty times more potent than heroin and much more lucrative for drug traffickers. As a matter of health and public safety policy, the federal government should be increasing the resources it devotes to combatting this epidemic through interdiction, prevention, and treatment, and should be exploring new resources that could be devoted to significantly reducing deaths from opioid overdoses.
During the Obama administration, ONDCP was incredibly effective at coordinating the federal government’s efforts to thwart the supply of illicit opioids in our country and reduce the demand for these substances. ONDCP oversees and funds the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program, which coordinates federal, state, and local law enforcement efforts to disrupt drug trafficking organizations and apprehend those individuals peddling deadly drugs on our nation’s streets. ONDCP also oversees the critically important Drug Free Communities (DFC) program, which provides funding directly to communities to prevent drug use, specifically among youth. The DFC program has been successful at implementing education and prevention initiatives that reduce substance abuse among middle and high school-aged children.
ONDCP is also tasked with ensuring that the goals and objectives of the federal government, as they relate to substance abuse in our country, are continuously monitored and evaluated for success. ONDCP has played a critical role in ensuring that individual agency strategies to combat opioid and substance misuse and abuse are complementary and comprehensive.
As you traveled throughout the United States during your campaign for the presidency, you met with countless individuals and families affected by the opioid epidemic. As I meet with my constituents across Massachusetts, I hear the same heart-wrenching stories. These individuals and families constantly search for hope that progress will be made that changes the momentum of the opioid epidemic. ONDCP provides that hope through its effective leadership, oversight, and emphasis on ensuring that programs in response to the opioid crisis include treatment, prevention, and recovery, in addition to law enforcement activities. I urge you to publicly support ONDCP and to continue these comprehensive efforts with robust funding for fiscal year 2017 and beyond.
Sincerely,
Edward J. Markey
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