The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. SAMHSA is charged with improving the quality and availability of treatment and rehabilitative services in order to reduce illness,death,disability,and the cost to society resulting from substance abuse and mental illnesses. The Administrator of SAMHSA reports directly to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. SAMHSA's headquarters building is located outside of Rockville,Maryland.
James Marvin Ramstad was an American lawyer and politician who represented Minnesota's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party,Ramstad served in the Minnesota Senate from 1981 to 1991.
The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) is a component of the Executive Office of the President of the United States.
Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a substance use disorder characterized by cravings for opioids,continued use despite physical and/or psychological deterioration,increased tolerance with use,and withdrawal symptoms after discontinuing opioids. Opioid withdrawal symptoms include nausea,muscle aches,diarrhea,trouble sleeping,agitation,and a low mood. Addiction and dependence are important components of opioid use disorder.
Drug czar is an informal name for the person who directs drug-control policies in various areas. The term follows the informal use of the term czar in U.S. politics. The 'drug czar' title first appeared in a 1982 news story by United Press International that reported that,"[United States] Senators ... voted 62–34 to establish a 'drug czar' who would have overall responsibility for U.S. drug policy." Since then,several ad hoc executive positions established in both the United States and United Kingdom have subsequently been referred to in this manner.
John P. Walters is the president and chief executive officer of Hudson Institute;he was appointed in January 2021. He joined Hudson in 2009 as the executive vice president and most recently was the chief operating officer. Previously,Walters was Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in the George W. Bush administration. He held that position from February 5,2001,to January 20,2009. As the U.S. "Drug Czar",Walters coordinated all aspects of federal anti-drug policies and spending. As drug czar,he was a staunch opponent of drug decriminalization,legalization,and medical marijuana.
The war on drugs is the policy of a global campaign,led by the United States federal government,of drug prohibition,military aid,and military intervention,with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the United States. The initiative includes a set of drug policies that are intended to discourage the production,distribution,and consumption of psychoactive drugs that the participating governments,through United Nations treaties,have made illegal.
Commonly-cited arguments for and against the prohibition of drugs include the following:
Ethan A. Nadelmann is the founder of the Drug Policy Alliance,a New York City-based non-profit organization working to end the War on Drugs. He is a supporter of the legalization of marijuana in America.
Substance abuse prevention,also known as drug abuse prevention,is a process that attempts to prevent the onset of substance use or limit the development of problems associated with using psychoactive substances. Prevention efforts may focus on the individual or their surroundings. A concept that is known as "environmental prevention" focuses on changing community conditions or policies so that the availability of substances is reduced as well as the demand. Individual Substance Abuse Prevention,also known as drug abuse prevention involves numerous different sessions depending on the individual to help cease or reduce the use of substances. The time period to help a specific individual can vary based upon many aspects of an individual. The type of Prevention efforts should be based upon the individual's necessities which can also vary. Substance use prevention efforts typically focus on minors and young adults —especially between 12–35 years of age. Substances typically targeted by preventive efforts include alcohol,tobacco,marijuana,inhalants,coke,methamphetamine,steroids,club drugs,and opioids. Community advocacy against substance use is imperative due to the significant increase in opioid overdoses in the United States alone. It has been estimated that about one hundred and thirty individuals continue to lose their lives daily due to opioid overdoses alone.
Bertha Kalifon Madras is a professor of psychobiology in the Department of Psychiatry and the chair of the Division of Neurochemistry at Harvard Medical School,Harvard University. She served as associate director for public education in the division on Addictions at Harvard Medical School. Madras has published research in the areas of drug addiction,ADHD,and Parkinson's disease.
An opioid overdose is toxicity due to excessive consumption of opioids,such as morphine,codeine,heroin,fentanyl,tramadol,and methadone. This preventable pathology can be fatal if it leads to respiratory depression,a lethal condition that can cause hypoxia from slow and shallow breathing. Other symptoms include small pupils and unconsciousness;however,its onset can depend on the method of ingestion,the dosage and individual risk factors. Although there were over 110,000 deaths in 2017 due to opioids,individuals who survived also faced adverse complications,including permanent brain damage.
Richard Gil Kerlikowske is a former Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He assumed office on March 6,2014 and retired January 20,2017. He also served as the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy between 2009 and 2014.
A. Thomas McLellan is the founder and chairman of the board of directors at the Treatment Research Institute,a not-for-profit research and development institute in Philadelphia. He served as deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy from 2009 to 2012.
This is a history of drug prohibition in the United States.
There is an ongoing opioid epidemic in the United States,originating out of both medical prescriptions and illegal sources. It has been called "one of the most devastating public health catastrophes of our time". The opioid epidemic unfolded in three waves. The first wave of the epidemic in the United States began in the late 1990s,according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),when opioids were increasingly prescribed for pain management,resulting in a rise in overall opioid use throughout subsequent years. The second wave was from an expansion in the heroin market to supply already addicted people. The third wave starting in 2013 was marked by a steep 1,040% increase in the synthetic opioid-involved death rate as synthetic opioids flooded the US market.
Rahul Gupta is an American physician from the state of West Virginia. In 2021,he was appointed to serve as director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy by President Joe Biden. He formerly served at the helm of the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health.
Harm reduction consists of a series of strategies aimed at reducing the negative impacts of drug use on users. It has been described as an alternative to the U.S.'s moral model and disease model of drug use and addiction. While the moral model treats drug use as a morally wrong action and the disease model treats it as a biological or genetic disease needing medical intervention,harm reduction takes a public health approach with a basis in pragmatism. Harm reduction provides an alternative to complete abstinence as a method for preventing and mitigating the negative consequences of drug use and addiction.
In response to the surging opioid prescription rates by health care providers that contributed to the opioid epidemic in the United States,US states began passing legislation to stifle high-risk prescribing practices. These new laws fell primarily into one of the following four categories:
- Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) enrollment laws:prescribers must enroll in their state's PDMP,an electronic database containing a record of all patients' controlled substance prescriptions
- PDMP query laws:prescribers must check the PDMP before prescribing an opioid
- Opioid prescribing cap laws:opioid prescriptions cannot exceed designated doses or durations
- Pill mill laws:pain clinics are closely regulated and monitored to minimize the prescription of opioids non-medically
Regina LaBelle is a professor and the director of the Addiction and Public Policy Initiative at the Georgetown University Law Center's O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. She was the acting director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) from January 20,2021 to November 5,2021,and the only woman to ever lead this office. She was named deputy director and served as acting director by President Joe Biden on the first day of his presidency. Prior to her work with the Biden Administration,she was the Chief of Staff of ONDCP under President Barack Obama.
