Trump Administration Reportedly Slashes $2 Billion in Psychological Well being and Habit Funding
Specialists say these reported cuts to federal grants will exacerbate the U.S.’s habit disaster
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The Trump administration has reportedly slashed U.S. federal funding for psychological well being and habit packages, a transfer that consultants say will exacerbate the nation’s already acute drug disaster.
The loss might complete some $2 billion in grants from the Substance Abuse and Psychological Well being Companies Administration (SAMHSA), NPR reported, citing unnamed sources. However the extent of the cuts has not been verified. The variety of grants canceled might be as excessive as 2,800, in response to STAT.
“That is going to value American lives, little question,” says Daniel Ciccarone, a professor of habit medication on the College of California, San Francisco. “It’s an utter disgrace, given the truth that overdoses are on the decline.”
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“Now is just not the time to let up on our efforts,” he says.
On Wednesday the U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention launched knowledge exhibiting that estimated drug overdose deaths between August 2024 and August 2025 declined by almost 21 % in contrast with the earlier 12 months.
The decline in overdose deaths within the U.S. is just not by likelihood, says Regina LaBelle, a professor of habit coverage at Georgetown College.
“The federal authorities invested in state and community-based efforts to stop substance use, deal with individuals with substance use dysfunction and assist restoration. The funding cuts made by the administration at the moment mirror a retreat from these investments,” she says.
The event is a “shock,” Ciccarone says, noting that the opioid epidemic has disproportionately affected crimson states. “The Trump administration, in each phrases, might be claiming some credit score for the discount in deaths,” he says. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
Caleb Banta-Inexperienced, a analysis professor on the College of Washington, who research drug traits, says the cuts would “intestine” lifesaving companies for individuals all throughout the nation. “Along with saving lives and supporting restoration, treating substance use dysfunction is probably the most impactful technique to scale back ‘demand’ for medication, with its upstream impacts on drug trafficking and manufacturing,” he says. Combating drug trafficking has been a precedence of the Trump administration.
“The underside line is that federal funding in psychological well being and habit companies saves lives,” stated Arthur C. Evans, Jr., CEO of the American Psychological Affiliation, in a assertion. “Abruptly reducing this assist, together with to school-based and different youth-focused psychological well being packages, threatens to destabilize psychological well being care in our communities and places our most weak populations in danger.”
The U.S. Division of Well being and Human Companies and SAMHSA didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Editor’s Word (1/14/26): This text was up to date with further data. It is a breaking information story and could also be up to date additional.
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