White House Announces Over $276 Million for Law Enforcement to Help Address the Overdose Epidemic and Crack Down on Illicit Drug Trafficking

As nation sees overdose death rate decrease for the first time in five years, Biden-Harris Administration continues unprecedented investments to address this epidemic and save lives

Washington, D.C. – Today, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director Dr. Rahul Gupta announced over $276 million in new funding for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Program. The HIDTA Program supports federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States. This new funding will help support law enforcement agencies that seize illicit drugs like fentanyl, prevent and reduce gun violence and other violent crime associated with drug trafficking, improve interdiction efforts through enhanced data sharing and targeting, and dismantle illicit finance operations.

“Addressing the overdose epidemic is a key priority of President Biden, and a pillar of his Unity Agenda for the nation,” said White House Drug Policy Director Dr. Rahul Gupta. “This funding will help law enforcement officials crack down on illicit drug trafficking and keep our communities safe. The HIDTA Program is a critical component of our whole-of-society work to strengthen both public health and public safety efforts to beat the overdose epidemic and save lives.”

HIDTAs assess the drug threats in their communities and develop strategies to advance public health and public safety. In 2023, HIDTAs supported law enforcement in successfully disrupting and dismantling more than 3,000 drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and in seizing illegal drugs with a wholesale value of more than $17 billion. Nearly 55 percent of the illicit drug trafficking and money laundering organizations were determined to be part of multi-state or international operations. Through this work, HIDTA initiatives helped remove $17.3 billion of illegal drugs from the market, including more than 9,000 kilograms and more than 117 million pills of fentanyl, and seized $641.9 million in United States currency from drug traffickers. According to a recent NIH-supported study, the number of counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl seized by domestic law enforcement was more than 2,300 times greater in 2023 compared to 2017.

Today’s new funding will go to 33 HIDTA regions currently located in the 50 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S.  Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia:

President Biden has made addressing the nation’s overdose epidemic a key pillar of his Unity Agenda for the nation. Under his leadership, the Administration has made cracking down on global drug trafficking and holding drug traffickers accountable a key priority. The Biden-Harris Administration has also made historic investments, taken historic action, and removed decades-long barriers to addiction treatment and overdose reversal medication to help address the overdose epidemic and save lives.

Over the past four years, the Biden-Harris Administration has invested a historic $167.2 billion in total drug control funding to address the overdose epidemic – representing a 21 percent increase in funding compared to that of the previous administration. According to the latest data released from the CDC just last week, the nation’s overdose deaths have decreased for the first time in five years, following a period of rapid double-digit increases from 2019-2021.

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