Will a popular Drug Prevention Program be cut from Federal Funding?
The Trump administration has proposed cutting a $56 million annual grant to a popular drug prevention program that helps to distribute naloxone and trains first responders on how to use the drug. This would reduce the number of drug prevention programs and overdose prevention centers. The proposed cut would essentially eliminate the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration agency (SAMHSA), which is in charge of the distribution of life-saving tools and resources for those with substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health conditions.
The Trump administration recently announced an abrupt cancellation and revocation of about $11.4 billion in COVID-era funding for grants linked to addiction treatment and mental health treatment programs. In a draft budget obtained by The New York Times and The Washington Post, the Trump Administration’s proposal specifically listed cutting three different programs that appeared to be directly related to naloxone distribution and drug training. These programs were the Improving Access to Overdose Treatment, Overdose Prevention (naloxone) and First Responder Training (naloxone) programs.
The current federal grant funding is scheduled to run through September 2025. According to report findings from the AP, a proposed cut of $33.3 billion from the Health and Human Services budget in 2026 would directly eliminate SAMHSA. This would also eliminate any grants awarded through SAMHSA. If this happens, SAMHSA would be merged into a new organization called the Administration for a Healthy America (AHA), as part of the restructuring of the HHS that will be expected to remove an estimated 20,000 federal jobs.
This agency helps expand wider access to naloxone, helps distribute life-saving overdose prevention kits and trains firefighters, police officers and other first responders on how to properly administer them. If this grant is cut, it could reverse programs made in lowering the opioid overdose death rate, say addiction experts and behavioral health advocates.
Where does RFK Jr. stand on these proposed cuts?
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been open about his own struggles with a 14-year heroin addiction. He has always been vocal about his desire to effectively address the American drug overdose crisis. RFK Jr. initially praised interventions like Narcan, the brand name of the drug naloxone, for saving lives. But now the Secretary has seemed to change his tune and has since advocated for the importance of preventing addiction through faith and community efforts.
The HHS Secretary now believes the ongoing drug epidemic requires a deeper spiritual and societal change rather than relying solely on medical solutions. Despite his history with drug addiction, many are finding it surprising that the Secretary would consider backing plans to end the federal Narcan distribution program that has been credited with saving so many lives since its inception.
What is Naloxone?
Naloxone is an opioid reversal medication. It is usually referred to by its brand name Narcan. Narcan is available as an injectable and a nasal spray. It is an opioid antagonist that attaches to the receptors in the brain to reverse and block the effects of opioids. Narcan can quickly restore normal breathing to a person who is overdosing on opioids.
Commonly used opioids include fentanyl, methadone, oxycodone, heroin and hydrocodone. Symptoms of opioid overdose include unconsciousness, slowed heart rate, low blood pressure, shallow breathing or respiratory depression and dilated pupils.
The medication starts working as soon as it is administered. Some people can see a response within 2-3 minutes after the first does. In more serious cases, some people may need multiple doses in order to feel the effects of the medication. Naloxone is effective for about 30-90 minutes.
After administration, the patient should immediately seek out emergency care. This is because many opioids still remain in the body for much longer and there is still a possibility for it to cause an overdose once the overdose medication wears off. The half-life of naloxone is about 2 hours and it can take up to 10 hours for the medication to completely exit the system.
In March 2023, the FDA approved Narcan for over-the-counter use. This made it available without a prescription and a standard in emergency kits for first responders. This opioid reversal medication has been part of a government overdose response program for many years.
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Harm Reduction Program
In 2023, the First Responders Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act program distributed more than 100,000 opioid overdose reversal medication kits. They also trained an estimated 77,000 first responders on how to administer the medication according to SAMHSA. In 2024, that grant money was used to train an estimated 66,000 police officers, firefighters and other emergency responders in overdose medication administration. It was also used to distribute 282,500 Narcan kits.
The $56 million grant helps keep harm reduction programs, such as training for Narcan use, available to the most vulnerable populations. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the annual overdose rate has dropped about 23%. This has largely been attributed to the availability and access to life-saving overdose medications like Narcan, the work of drug prevention programs and the accessibility of overdose prevention centers.
What are the Risks of Cutting Back the Drug Prevention Program?
Many advocates for continuation of the program believe that, without federal funding, many states will be forced to reduce essential services in other sectors such as health care, education and public safety in order to compensate for the overdose prevention program. This would put a strain on many aspects of public works in states that are already struggling.
Some experts say that reducing the funding for Narcan and other drug prevention programs could send a message that the government would rather see people who use drugs die than get the support they need and deserve. These advocates say funding is important for saving lives every day.
What’s next?
No financial decisions have been made just yet, says a spokesperson for the White House Office of Management and Budget and the US Department of Health and Human Services. However, many experts and clinicians believe this cutback in funding for harm reduction programs could cause a setback in progress when it comes to treating substance overdose. The decline in drug overdose deaths in the most recent years is due to the funding for access to life-saving medications like naloxone and the rise in substance addiction treatment programs during the Biden Administration.
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Treatment for Substance Use Disorder
Substance overdose has been a public health crisis in the US for the past decades. Harm reduction programs such as access to Narcan kits are providing life-saving measures to reduce the number of overdose deaths. However, the Trump administration is expected to cut back on grants that provide broader access to overdose medication and training for emergency responders on how to administer these medications. How will this affect the overall population in those who are still abusing mind-altering drugs?
Professional behavioral health treatment programs such as Hotel California by the Sea provide treatment for substance use disorder and co-occurring mental health disorders. We offer treatment at all levels of care including detox, residential, PHP and IOP. We utilize evidence-based treatment methods such as DBT, CBT, EMDR therapy and family therapy. Hotel California by the Sea is dedicated to helping clients reach their goals of sobriety and overcome their addiction.
References:
https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/30/health/naloxone-grant-budget-cut-overdose-prevention
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/overdose-deaths-narcan-naloxone-harm-reduction-samhsa-trump-cuts
https://www.snopes.com/news/2025/04/30/trump-rfk-jr-narcan
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/27/nx-s1-5342368/addiction-trump-mental-health-funding