Will Trump cut Naloxone access? $56M federal program under threat
May 2, 2025, 8:02 AM
The contents of a Narcan first aid kit are shown. (Photo: Michelle Mengsu Chang, Getty Images)
(Photo: Michelle Mengsu Chang, Getty Images)
The Trump administration is reportedly weighing its options whether or not it will cut access to Naloxone, a medicine that can “rapidly reverse” an opioid overdose, according to the DEA.
The federal government is considering cuts to a federal grant program that provides access to Naloxone, despite naming overdose prevention as one of the administration’s top drug policy priorities. The program is a $56 million annual grant through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) that helps distribute kits that include Naloxone. Additionally, the money supports training first responders on how to use Naloxone and other opioid overdose medications.
Naloxone (also known by the brand name Narcan) prevents opioid overdoses by restoring someone’s breathing.
In 2023, the program distributed more than 101,000 opioid overdose reversal medication kits while simultaneously training nearly 77,000 people.
The program was listed as one of the potential cuts in a budget proposal developed last month, obtained by CNN.
According to SAMSHA, six grants have been awarded in Washington since 2019, totaling approximately $2.8 million.
Annual overdose deaths have dropped nearly 25% nationally since 2023, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In Washington, there was a 12% decrease in that time span. Experts believe there is a correlation between the availability of Naloxone and the drop in overdose deaths.
“Naloxone—the antidote to an overdose—saves lives every day and naloxone distribution programs have been part of the federal government’s overdose response for over a decade,” Regina LaBelle, director of the Addiction and Public Policy Initiative at Georgetown University, said in an email to CNN. “I’ve been working on this issue for almost two decades, and I’m very scared at what’s going to happen and what lies ahead, because it’s not just about getting rid of bureaucrats, it’s about undermining the entire system we’ve spent decades building up. I’m really afraid of going backwards.”
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