The Trump administration’s new drug policy prioritizes a focus on border security and law enforcement. This approach deviates from past efforts, which have focused on a patient and health care-centric approach to combating the opioid epidemic. 

“To meet the urgent need of this moment, the Trump administration is launching an unprecedented whole-of-government effort to stop these drugs from entering our communities and hold drug traffickers accountable,” Jon Rice, a senior official performing the duties of the director for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said in a statement. “The priorities in this framework outline the first steps to kick cartels out of our country, free Americans from the deadly grip of addiction, and guide America back to health and safety.”

The priorities outline six areas of focus, which are to:

— Reduce the number of overdose fatalities, with a focus on fentanyl

— Secure the global supply chain against drug trafficking

— Stop the flow of drugs across U.S. borders and into U.S. communities

— Prevent drug use before it starts

— Provide treatment that leads to long-term recovery

— Innovate in research and data to support drug control strategies

While the plan acknowledges “the complexity of substance use disorder and addiction,” it discloses that it will help tackle the issue with educational campaigns about illicit drug use and “equip law enforcement and first responders with the training and tools needed to intervene and prevent overdose deaths.”

This is a departure from past presidential drug policies in this area, which generally cited expanding access to care and recovery, supporting evidence-based harm reduction and prevention efforts, and enhancing care equity for marginalized and the most affected populations.

Past presidential priorities

The Trump administration plans to crack down on groups connected to illicit drug trafficking and the supply chain. Phrases like “foreign terrorist organizations,” “gangs” and “international cartels” appear frequently, with the White House noting that it will “continue to take decisive action and exploit all existing authorities, both punitive and economic, to eliminate the production and distribution networks that allow these drugs to reach the United States.”

This is a noticeable pivot from the language used around the previous strategies outlined in the Biden administration’s 2021 drug policy outline and the Obama administration’s, neither of which mentions these actions or groups.

The release of the Trump administration’s Drug Policy Priorities comes on the heels of major consolidation and cuts across the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), part of which includes merging the agency most closely connected to drug policy and mental health services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), into a new division known as the Administration for a Healthy America (AHA).

While the move is supposedly one of “operational efficiency,” experts worry it will be anything but efficient.

Groups like Mental Health America have already called on the Trump administration to “strongly reconsider” SAMSHA’s absorption into the new AHA.

“If the merger does go forward, HHS should set explicit goals for behavioral health and ensure that SAMHSA collaborates with other agencies on key policies,” a statement from the group read. “A Republican-led bill created the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health as the leader of SAMHSA to give behavioral health a direct voice at the highest levels of HHS. That leadership must not be lost.”

There is still ambiguity around how the Trump administration plans to implement the priorities in the drug policy document. Additionally, it remains to be seen how and if the White House will go beyond emergency overdose responses for harm reduction.