The White House on Thursday announced more than $450 million in additional funding to help tackle the United States’ overdose crisis, welcoming the fact that the number of overdoses in the country has stabilized for just over a year, though it remains at record levels.
The United States continues to see a dramatic number of overdoses: around 110,000 in a year between March 2022 and 2023, according to health authorities.
But “overdoses have stabilized in 2022, after a sharp spike from 2019-2021, and it shows that our efforts are paying off,” Rahul Gupta, director of the Bureau of Counternarcotics, said at a White House news briefing.
However, he acknowledged that this stabilization does not affect deaths related to fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that has flooded the drug market in the United States and is the leading contributor to overdoses in the country.
“Fentanyl-related overdoses continue to rise as the supply is deadlier, but overdose deaths from other substances are declining or stable,” he said.
The new funds announced on Thursday are intended, in particular, to improve prevention and access to treatment.
Around $80 million will be spent on tackling opioids in rural areas, including improving access to naloxone, an antidote that can revive a person after an opioid (such as fentanyl) overdose.
In the spring, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the over-the-counter sale of naloxone in the form of a nasal spray known by the brand name Narcan for the first time. Then in July it approved free sales of a generic drug.
This week, Emergent BioSolutions, makers of Narcan, announced that the first over-the-counter packs will be available in US pharmacies, supermarkets and online beginning in September, priced at $44.99 (each pack contains two doses).
Families of overdose victims are received at the White House on Thursday, International Overdose Awareness Day, in the presence of Doug Emhoff, husband of US Vice President Kamala Harris.
“My administration will continue to ensure our country has the resources we need to fight the overdose epidemic,” President Joe Biden said on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday.