Office Of National Drug Control Policy Research Articles

ONDCP calls for all‐government response to xylazine‐fentanyl

Last week the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) issued a plan for a “whole‐of‐government” response to the combination of xylazine and fentanyl. The plan outlines specific responsibilities for what appears to be every single federal agency, in an action to be coordinated by the ONDCP.

Kent on OTPs and new regulations: Promise for the future

“The new rules will help opioid treatment programs,” said Rob Kent, former counsel for the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the New York state Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS), now a consultant, in an interview with ADAW last month. He was referring to the SAMHSA [Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration] proposed regulations to modernize methadone treatment (see https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adaw.33643), which have nothing to do with the proposed bills to allow office‐based physicians to prescribe methadone to people with opioid use disorder (see https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adaw.33720). In fact, Kent said he supports making methadone treatment easier to access, but has concerns about the proposals, supported by the American Society of Addiction Medicine and almost all other medical societies, to allow patients to be treated outside of the OTP [opioid treatment program].

OnPoint and other OPCs: How to argue against “crack house” statute

As long as what is referred to colloquially as the “crack house” statute is still on the books, OnPoint and other overdose prevention centers (OPCs) will have to prove they are legal in spite of that law. But Rob Kent, former legal counsel for the federal Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and before that, the New York Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) has ideas for how to do so. “I hate the term,” said Kent, but it is what is used, and the 1986 federal law bans the use or maintenance of any place for the purpose of using illegal drugs.

ONDCP, White House call for more access to OD reversal drugs

Last week, the White House called for increasing access to, and affordability of, overdose reversal medications. “Overdose reversal medications save lives, and no one should lack access because of affordability or availability,” said Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director Dr. Rahul Gupta. “President Biden has set a clear directive: Increase access and affordability of these lifesaving medications. We are looking at every option to do so — and manufacturers have a critical role to play in this effort. At a time when we are losing more than 100,000 Americans a year to drug overdose and poisoning, we are asking all manufacturers who currently have FDA‐approved overdose reversal medications on the market to take urgent action and help end the nation's overdose crisis. The stakes could not be higher, and working together to solve this problem has never been more important.”

Beloved Rob Kent leaves ONDCP for private consulting

Rob Kent, formerly general counsel of New York's Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS), and since 2021 general counsel of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has left the federal office as of April 14 for private practice, ADAW has learned. We talked to him in Atlanta last week, and as always, he was confident and articulate about the way to move forward. “I want to focus on providers,” he said. Since going to ONDCP, he has regularly heard from addiction treatment providers across the country about how to handle various issues. He's a lawyer and knows the field from a legal perspective better than anyone.

ONDCP‐funded model law calls for less punitive approach to pregnant users

Model state legislation informed by a working group of experts with the support of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) emphasizes that maintaining a treatment‐focused approach to substance‐using pregnant women and meeting federal child welfare reporting requirements are not mutually exclusive goals. The model act lends the weight of the leading federal drug policy agency to an effort to counteract increasingly punitive actions in some states that have targeted pregnant women with substance use disorders (SUDs).

Establishing an Approach for Designation of Evolving and Emerging Drug Threats.

Establishing an Approach for Designation of Evolving and Emerging Drug Threats.

National dashboard to track nonfatal opioid ODs

Last week, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), launched a national data dashboard of nonfatal opioid overdoses across the country. A person who is rescued from an opioid overdose is more than twice as likely to die from an opioid overdose in the future, said ONDCP Director Rahul Gupta, M.D., in announcing the dashboard Dec. 7.

Opioid treatment worldwide conference set for Baltimore next week

More than 1,200 leaders in opioid treatment plan to convene in Baltimore later this month for the first in‐person conference of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) since October 2019. Speakers including Rahul Gupta, M.D., director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), and Miriam Delphin‐Rittmon, Ph.D., leader of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and assistant secretary for mental health and substance use of the Department of Health and Human Services. In addition to these federal officials, others, including from SAMHSA and ONDCP, plan to be there to present and answer questions.

ONDCP: Improving drug crisis response requires data on nonfatal overdoses

As the number of annual overdose deaths in the U.S. have soared past the 100,000 mark, the gap between the scale of the crisis and the scope of the data systems that are designed to track it has similarly grown. Leaders in the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) at the White House have called for the establishment of a national reporting system that encompasses nonfatal overdoses, in a process that they acknowledge will take at least two to three federal budget cycles to execute.

Drug control strategy calls for bolstering SUD workforce

A key element of the National Drug Control Strategy released last month by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) is the addiction treatment workforce — specifically, building it and the infrastructure that supports it.

In Case You Haven't Heard…

Remember the “crack pipe” controversy, which ensued when news outlets Fox and The Blaze reported that federal harm‐reduction kits would include such pipes? And the next day, when Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra and Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director Rahul Gupta announced that no, they wouldn't? This was followed by an outcry from harm‐reduction advocates, who noted that pipe‐sharing, when drug users have, for example, bleeding lips, could result in HIV and HPV transmission, just as needle‐sharing can. In fact, what was not discussed is that when drugs are smoked, there is usually one way to smoke them, and that is with a pipe. They aren't crack pipes. They are pipes, used when smoking is the route of administration for many drugs, including, of course, tobacco. We asked HHS to respond to questions about what led to the about‐face on these products. So far, we have not received a response. We do know that the ONDCP considered it a nonissue; after all, federal funds can't be used to buy syringes, either. The harm‐reduction kits do include alcohol wipes, which could be used to wipe the pipe off.

Deflection state model law released by ONDCP

Deflection, a concept in which people who need treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs) and are arrested for a crime are placed in treatment before entering the criminal justice system, has now been embraced by the federal government. Last week the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) released a model law states can use to implement these programs.

In Case You Haven't Heard…

The week of Feb. 7 will be known as the “crack pipe” debacle week, and you most likely have heard all about it. The upshot is that crack pipes cannot be funded under the harm‐reduction grants from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). First, right‐wing media reported that the Biden administration was funding crack pipes. The next day, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra and Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director Dr. Rahul Gupta released a statement saying, in part, “no federal funding will be used directly or through subsequent reimbursement of grantees to put pipes in safe smoking kits.” As SAMHSA, HHS and the ONDCP have said all along, the federal government regards fundable harm‐reduction strategies as naloxone, fentanyl test strips and syringe exchange services. Incidentally, what started as jubilation in the harm‐reduction community when SAMHSA first announced the $30 million in harm‐reduction grants (see “SAMHSA announces harm‐reduction grants,” ADAW Dec. 13, 2021; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adaw.33290) turned to pique and dismay as the application deadline approached. Grassroots groups that had little expertise in grant writing but were eager for the $400,000 made applying a cumbersome job — which is why we interviewed expert grant writer Jo Sotheran about how to do it (see How to apply for the $30 million in SAMHSA HR grants; ADAW Jan. 10; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adaw.33307).

SAMHSA, CDC and ONDCP hold first federal harm‐reduction summit

Last week, the federal government held a landmark “summit” on harm reduction. By invitation only, the meeting was sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). Rahul Gupta, M.D., director of the ONDCP, led the meeting, according to sources familiar with it, some of whom attended, who related the information they gleaned to ADAW. (SAMHSA declined to give any information about the summit, which we learned about from other sources, and was not publicized.)

Syringe services programs: White House releases model law

For syringe services programs (SSPs), which are legal under federal law, to operate, there must be state laws allowing them. This month, the federal Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) released a model law for states to use to ensure that such programs are accessible, safe and effective, and save money.

Feds focus on naloxone and fentanyl test strips, blame COVID‐19 for OD increases

Last week, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that the predicted overdose death count for the 12‐month period ending April 2021 is more than 100,000. That's one death every five minutes, said Rahul Gupta, M.D., director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), at a Nov. 17 press briefing with the heads of the CDC, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

ONDCP's Drug‐Free Communities program reduces drug use

Since the inception of the Drug‐Free Communities program by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), the past 30‐day prevalence of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and prescription drug misuse has declined significantly among middle school and high school aged youth.

Former acting director of ONDCP calls for more treatment

Regina LaBelle, then acting director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), spoke at a Georgetown University conference in September on model opioid litigation. She referred to how the opioid overdose epidemic began — with prescription overdoses. One small town in West Virginia, Kermit, was flooded with opioids. It turns out they were coming from a pill mill in Florida, where a doctor would come in for an hour a day dispensing pain pills, and the buyers would fly back to West Virginia with them. “These doctors were not treating pain; they were operating a criminal enterprise,” said LaBelle.

In Case You Haven't Heard…

As Regina LaBelle leaves the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and Rahul Gupta, M.D., takes over in the wake of his confirmation last month, there are still questions about how the staff will react. This is a new deal for the office. Gupta, the first medical doctor to ever lead the ONDCP, was West Virginia's state health officer from 2015–18, and then went on to work at the March of Dimes. He was leader of the Kanawha‐Charleston Health Department from 2009 until 2014. “As a practicing physician and former health official who has served in rural communities, I have seen firsthand the heartbreaking toll of addiction and overdose in our communities, but I have also seen how we can save lives if we understand the individuals behind the statistics and meet them where they are,” said Gupta in taking office. “President Biden has made clear that addressing addiction and the overdose epidemic is an urgent priority. As Director, I will diligently work to advance high‐quality, data‐driven strategies to make our communities healthier and safer.” It was widely believed that Biden chose Gupta to nominate to win West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin's vote on the infrastructure bill.