As more and more people across the country fall victim to heroine overdose, the White House is getting ready to announce a program that will link public health to law enforcement for the first time in recorded history.
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The Obama administration is changing its approach to the surge in heroin use in the United States from a punishment-driven model to a treatment-driven one, following the release of data showing that heroin use and related deaths are rising rapidly.
The White House Drug Policy Office on Monday announced $13.4 million in immediate funding for areas in the North East suffering from a heroin and prescription opioid abuse epidemic.
Commenting on the new plan, a senior White House official said, “Our approach needs to be broad and inclusive”.
Meanwhile, the public safety coordinator will ensure law enforcement officials have the resources and intelligence they need to disrupt heroin trafficking.
The public safety coordinator, meanwhile, will provide support and intelligence to law enforcement looking to disrupt the heroin supply. Between 2002 and 2013, heroin use increased across nearly all demographics, especially among those in which use has historically been low.
From local police to federal law enforcement agencies, two constant frustrations in the battle against the spread of heroin have been an inability to get solid, timely information about where the drug is coming from and who is distributing it, and widespread ignorance among first responders about how to recognize and handle overdoses. Officials want greater access to naloxone, a drug administered to reverse the effects of an overdose.
The program was meant to be made official on Monday, but two (2) senior officials from the White House leaked the information to Washington Post on Sunday.
In an effort to stem the tide of drugs flowing across the U.S.-Mexico border, $1.3 million of the funds will go to five programs along the Southwest border to help investigative efforts against large-scale transnational criminal organizations.
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A law enforcement official told the Post it was a step in “both reducing crime and reducing the number of people who end up in emergency rooms”. Often, grants create silos in government.
