White House Announces More Than $16 Million to Help Disrupt Illicit Drug Trafficking and Drug-Related Crime in All 50 States and U.S. Territories

Amid largest decrease in number of overdose deaths on record, Biden-Harris Administration provides new funding to strengthen public health and public safety efforts in every state across the country

Washington, D.C. – Today, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director Dr. Rahul Gupta announced more than $16 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 discretionary funding for High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Programs across all 50 states, U.S. Territories, and the District of Columbia. The HIDTA Program coordinates and assists federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies to address regional drug threats and reduce illicit drug production and trafficking. This new funding, adding to the $276 million provided in base funding earlier this summer, will help support law enforcement agencies that seize illicit drugs like fentanyl, prevent and reduce gun violence and other violent crime associated with drug trafficking, improve interdiction through enhanced data sharing and targeting, and dismantle illicit finance operations.

“From day one, President Biden and Vice President Harris made addressing the overdose epidemic a top priority and set out to transform the way our nation approaches this crisis,” said Dr. Gupta. “From making life-saving opioid overdose reversal medications like naloxone more available and affordable here at home to disrupting the supply of illicit fentanyl and other synthetic drugs across the globe, the Biden-Harris Administration has taken decisive action to combat this epidemic, and the latest data shows our efforts are working. Violent crime is down at historic lows and the number of overdose deaths are continuing to decline at steady rates across the country in a historic manner. Through this new funding, we will strengthen critical public health and public safety efforts to prevent dangerous drugs from reaching vulnerable communities.” 

The HIDTA Program supports regional law enforcement efforts in all 50 states, U.S. Territories, and the District of Columbia. In 2023 alone, the HIDTA Program supported law enforcement in successfully disrupting and dismantling more than 3,000 drug trafficking and money laundering organizations, removing more than $17 billion in illegal drugs from the market (including more than 9,000 kilograms in fentanyl powder and more than 117 million fentanyl pills), and seizing $641.9 million from drug traffickers. HIDTAs also collaborate closely with public health partners on innovative strategies to reduce fatal and non-fatal overdoses and substance use. Preliminary data from the first half of this year show that violent crime is continuing to drop to historic levels nationwide, falling by 10.3% to its lowest level since 1969.

Today’s new funding will go to 33 regional HIDTA programs located in all 50 states, U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia:

The Biden-Harris Administration has made cracking down on illicit drug trafficking and holding drug traffickers accountable a key priority in their whole-of-government efforts to address the overdose epidemic and save lives. Over the past four years, the Administration has deployed cutting-edge drug detection technology across the southwest border, taken more law enforcement action against drug traffickers and their key enablers who operate around the globe, and strengthened global action in the fight against synthetic drugs. The Administration has invested $2.5 billion more than the previous administration to reduce the supply of illicit drugs, including funding to strengthen border security, illicit drug seizures, and interdiction efforts. The Administration has also increased funding for U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s drug interdiction efforts by nearly 15% compared to the previous administration, and stopped more illicit fentanyl at ports of entry in the past two fiscal years than in the previous five fiscal years combined.

At the same time, the Biden-Harris Administration has removed decades-long barriers to treatment for substance use disorder and expanded access to life-saving overdose reversal medications like naloxone. When President Biden and Vice President Harris took office in January 2021, the number of overdose deaths were increasing 31% year-over-year. According to the latest provisional data released from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) just this week, overdose deaths have decreased by about 12.7% year-over-year (in the 12-months ending May 2024). This is the largest recorded reduction in overdose deaths and the sixth consecutive month of reported decreases in predicted 12-month total numbers of drug overdose deaths.

Read White House Drug Policy Director’s statement on the latest drug overdose death data HERE.

Read more on the Biden-Harris Administration actions to address the overdose epidemic HERE.

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