US Opioid Cash Struggles and Action Plans
March 3rd, 2025
Azzy Xiang
The number of opioid-involved deaths has increased substantially in the past few decades, and the drug addiction crisis is still highly prevalent in America. This is a major problem in public health caused by the influence of pharmaceutical companies, inadequate regulation, and illegal use of synthetics, affecting most young and middle-aged adults.
But as federal funding dries up in states, lawmakers are funneling opioid settlement money into Temporary Assistance for Needy Families instead of the intended use of combating addiction. County officials are also using the funds on drug-free entertainment like ice skating, which critics argue do not sufficiently address the addiction crisis. Even though settlement agreements come with national guidelines explaining how money should be delegated to treatment, recovery, and prevention efforts, there is barely any enforcement. What the settlement money is being spent on is also very difficult to track. On top of that, research shows that a medicine called buprenorphine can cut chances of dying from overdose drastically, yet it remains severely underprescribed due to limited funding and excessive regulations. Trump and Elon Musk's cost-cutting measures on pharmaceutical companies are slowing drug research and delaying FDA drug approvals that could help combat the crisis as well, which also negatively affects biopharmaceutical business.
However, these new developments do come with new advocacy efforts. On the local level in some city legislatures, funds from opioid settlement are finally used to pay formerly addicted ambassadors to speak to those struggling. Universities like The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga are committing to reinforcing education on safety and training students how to use Narcan, a life-saving medication that can reverse overdoses.
Most particularly, nonprofit charity Think Neuro, an organization dedicated towards fighting the opioid crisis, holds a provisional patent for a new opioid detection device with cutting-edge sensor technology, a potential digital health solution awaiting FDA regulatory approvals. They find that 96.8% of individuals see opioid misuse as a serious public health threat after reviewing materials about awareness. Community members also reported reduced stigma towards opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment after engaging with such educational content, bridging gaps in opioid knowledge in underrepresented communities, especially with limited English proficiency and lower healthcare access. Alongside this, the United States’ Drug Enforcement Administration has begun to work with tribal communities to advance drug education.
The Homeland Security Investigations' Strategy for Combating Illicit Opioids aims to reduce international and domestic supply of substances while working with private industry and attacking those responsible for the flow of such goods. This is particularly important and is reflective of India's recent policy of banning two opioids behind the addiction crisis in West Africa, as use of opioids in West Africa and the Middle East directly coincides with the problems in North America.
The FDA has also changed the labeling on buprenorphine which no longer requires a maximum dose, as the practice downplayed the effectiveness of the medicine. The American Medical Association has also urged health insurance companies Medicaid and Medicare to remove dosage caps and outdated restrictions.
With wrongful spending of settlement agreements and conservative policies inhibiting advancement of opioid treatment accessibility, yet cities, nonprofits like Think Neuro, and federal agencies working together to combat the crisis, it is unclear how developments will advance in the future. Findings from Think Neuro and advocacy organizations with lobbying power are supporting the need for continued public health advocacy to ensure equitable access to opioid treatment resources.
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