Dr. Gupta Statement for Overdose Awareness Day
Administration Has Taken Significant Actions to Prevent Overdose Deaths
WASHINGTON, D.C. –Dr. Rahul Gupta, Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), issued the following statement for Overdose Awareness Day (August 31):
“Since taking office, President Biden’s Administration has prioritized actions that will save lives from drug overdose,” said Dr. Rahul Gupta, Director of ONDCP. “This includes ensuring access to naloxone to reverse overdoses and expanding evidence-based treatment for substance use disorder. It also includes disrupting and dismantling the drug trafficking organizations that are killing an unprecedented number of Americans. Beating the overdose epidemic is a key part of President Biden’s Unity Agenda and this vital work will continue.”
As President Biden wrote in his earlier proclamation for Overdose Awareness Week (August 28 through September 3): “Overdose Awareness Week is a time to remember those tragically lost to overdose and the pain of the families who are left behind. But it is also an opportunity to recommit ourselves to working together to build safe, healthy, and resilient communities. By adopting evidence-based approaches to reducing overdose risks and lowering barriers to treatment and support, we can save more American lives.”
President Biden’s inaugural National Drug Control Strategy delivers on his Unity Agenda call to action to beat the overdose epidemic. It prioritizes targeted actions to expand access to evidence-based prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery services while reducing the supply of drugs like fentanyl.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts 109,247 people died from overdose in the 12-month period ending in March 2022. By comparison, the 12-month rolling total for the period ending in February 2022 was 109,442. That’s an overdose death every five minutes around the clock. That’s why beating the overdose epidemic is a key part of President Biden’s Unity Agenda for America, which he announced in his State of the Union Address.
Read an updated fact sheet of Administration Actions to beat the overdose epidemic HERE.
Read the Biden-Harris Administration’s inaugural National Drug Control Strategy HERE.
Read the fact sheet on the Strategy HERE.
