White House distributes funds to fight drug trafficking and overdoses

Federal drug czar Dr. Rahul Gupta last month announced more than $276 million in new funding for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program.

“The administration has now invested more dollars than any previous administration to make treatments more accessible and to get nalaxone or narcan into more communities,” Dr. Gupta said.

This funding will be used for addiction treatment and prevention, in addition to reducing drug trafficking.

The South Florida HIDTA received more than $14 million. This covers Lee, Collier, Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties.

Gupta says expanding treatment and investing in local communities, like HIDTA funding, is working.

Currently, an American dies of an overdose every 5 minutes. But this rate is decreasing.

In January 2021, the overdose death rate increased by 31% year-over-year. The Department of Health and Human Services said the rate fell 3% in 2023 – the first decline in more than five years.

More than 7,000 Floridians died from drug overdoses in 2023, according to the CDC.

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