Fact Sheet - President Donald J. Trump Has Dedicated His Administration to Fighting Back Against the Opioid Crisis

It is time to liberate our communities from this scourge of drug addiction. Never been this way. We can be the generation that ends the opioid epidemic.

President Donald J. Trump

DEDICATED TO ENDING THE OPIOID CRISIS: President Donald J. Trump has mobilized Federal resources to combat the opioid crisis that has devastated so many of our communities.

• The President announced $1.8 billion in new grants to help States fight the opioid crisis and to help prevent more American lives from being lost to overdose.
  • These grants include more than $900 million in grants for States and territories to address the opioid crisis in their communities.
  • An additional $900 million will be awarded through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for research into overdose treatment and improving overdose data.
• These grants will further President Trump's government-wide efforts to fight back against the opioid crisis.
  • This follows nearly $400 million awarded last month to help community health centers, rural organizations, and academic institutions expand access to substance use disorder and mental health services.
• President Trump launched his Initiative to Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand, a first-of-its-kind effort to address the underlying factors driving the opioid crisis.
  • Since announcing this initiative, the President has led efforts to reduce opioid supplies, prevent opioid abuse, and increase treatment and recovery services.
• President Trump has worked to secure new funding and mobilize Federal resources to combat this crisis.
  • President Trump secured $6 billion in new, additional funding in fiscal years (FY) 2018 and 2019 to fight opioid misuse, addiction, and overdose.
  • Last year, the President signed into law the overwhelmingly bipartisan SUPPORT Act.
  • The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grant funding to combat this crisis increased nearly 4-fold from FY 2016 to FY 2018, and is increasing again this FY.

STOPPING SUPPLIES FROM REACHING OUR COMMUNITIES: President Trump is targeting illicit suppliers to ensure that deadly drugs are stopped before they reach our communities.

• For the past two years, our Nation's law enforcement officers have taken the fight to suppliers of illicit drugs.
  • Last year, we seized almost 5,000 pounds of fentanyl at the border—totaling 1.2 billion lethal doses, or enough to kill every American four times.
  • In 2018, the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas disrupted or dismantled nearly 3,000 drug trafficking or money laundering organizations.
• President Trump is working with allies and global partners to crack down on international suppliers of deadly, illicit drugs like fentanyl.
  • The President has repeatedly called on China to do more to stem the illicit flow of synthetic opioids exported from China.
  • The Administration has brought kingpin designations against fentanyl traffickers operating in China, India, Mexico, and other countries.
• The Administration has cracked down on the distribution of deadly drugs over the internet, including shutting down the country's biggest Darknet distributor of drugs.
  • During that operation, DOJ seized enough fentanyl to kill 105,000 Americans.

PREVENTING OPIOID ABUSE: The Trump Administration is working to prevent opioid abuse by raising awareness and cracking down on over-prescription.

• President Trump has launched efforts to educate Americans about the dangers of opioid misuse.
• The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) partnered with the Truth Initiative and Ad Council to educate youth about opioid misuse.
  • This campaign has already reached 58 percent of young adults and generated 1.4 billion total views.
• The President's efforts to curb opioid overprescribing has resulted in a 31 percent decrease in the total amount of opioids prescribed throughout our country since January 2017.
• The Administration is targeting opioid distribution fraud to make sure that pill mills are no longer able to fuel the epidemic and harm our communities.
• The Department of Veterans Affairs' Opioid Safety Initiative has reduced the number of veterans on opioids by more than 130,000, or 28 percent, in President Trump's first two years.

HELPING AMERICANS STRUGGLING WITH ADDICTION: The Administration is working to support Americans struggling with addiction.

• President Trump's Administration is expanding access to treatment for Americans struggling with addiction.
  • Administration estimates suggest approximately 347,000 more Americans are receiving medication-assisted treatment in 2019 than in 2016.
  • The number of patients receiving medication-assisted treatment at federally funded community health centers increased by 142 percent from 2016 to 2018.
• The Administration has launched efforts to expand the supply of naloxone and prevent more American lives from being lost to overdoses.
  • There has been a 378 percent increase in naloxone dispensed monthly since President Trump took office.
• The National Institutes of Health has launched a multi-year $350 million study to reduce opioid overdose deaths by 40 percent across 4 States.
• The Administration has approved more than $93 million in grants to help people affected by opioid addiction rejoin the workforce.

TAKING THE FIGHT TO THE OPIOID CRISIS: President Trump is making real progress in the fight against the crisis next door.

• According to initial data, the overdose death toll fell in 2018 for the first time in two decades.
  • Nationwide, there was a 5 percent decrease in drug overdose deaths from 2017 to 2018.

• Drug overdose deaths are declining in many of the States hit hardest by this crisis, including New Hampshire, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and more.
  • Drug overdose deaths have fallen from their peak levels by 10 percent in New Hampshire, 8 percent in West Virginia, 20 percent in Iowa, 24 percent in Pennsylvania, 16 percent in Kentucky, and 24 percent in Ohio.
• The number of Americans who misused opioids decreased from 11.4 million in 2017 to 10.3 million in 2018.