Lifesaving naloxone target of proposed Trump budget cuts
FAIRMONT — While the West Virginia Department of Human Services reported a major decrease in drug overdose deaths statewide, the Trump administration may take one life saving tool away.
'One of our core tenants or strategies, is just trying to saturate our county and neighborhoods with naloxone,' Joseph Klass, chief of operations for the Threat Preparedness Program at the Monongalia County Health Department, said. 'So when we do community type events, we always try to have naloxone there. We're trying to get naloxone into the hands of people who are potentially active in substance use and also those who may be around it or encounter someone who's overdosing.'
A leaked draft budget from April 10 verified by the New York Times and Washington Post shows the Trump administration is looking at eliminating three substance abuse treatment programs — 'Improving Access to Overdose Treatment,' 'Overdose Prevention (naloxone)' and 'First Responder Training (naloxone).'
From January to October 2024, W. Va. DoHS reported a 40% decrease in overdose deaths compared to the same period in 2024. Year over year, overdose deaths statewide decreased by 37.7% for the 12 months ending in November 2024. West Virginia outpaced the nationwide rate of average decline, which is 26.5%. The 2024 decline means 468 state residents are here who otherwise might not have been, DoHS said.
Klass said while it's difficult to pinpoint an exact reason for the decline, because there are a lot of variables at play, he said he was confident the saturation of naloxone into the community was part of cause.
'Naloxone reverses the fatal effects of an opiate overdose, which is someone not breathing,' Klass said. 'The strategy there is basically a person cannot potentially get into recovery if they're dead. So the thought process is, we know naloxone works very well at keeping people alive after they've suffered an opioid overdose. Our goal is to keep as many people alive as possible so they can hopefully get to recovery.'
Wes Thomas, an alcohol and drug health educator at West Virginia University, said the naloxone training programs provided by his program is funded by a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Behavioral Science Business reports the Trump administration suggests defunding one billion dollars from SAMHSA, on top of absorbing it into a new entity dubbed the Administration for a Healthy America. The budget recommends SAMHSA retain $5.7 billion for research and activities.
'The document specifically demonizes how funding was used by the agency under the previous administration, criticizing that it's grants 'were used to fund dangerous activities billed as harm reduction,' which included funding 'safe smoking kits and supplies' and 'syringes' for drug users,' Behavioral Science Business wrote.
Klass said there is science that shows addiction is a chronic disease, like diabetes or hypertension. While there is an argument that the first time someone did a substance, yes that was a choice, once the process of addiction starts it's a disease. He said from a public health standpoint, addiction has to be treated like a disease.
Tiesha Prim, a peer recovery support specialist at West Virginia Sober Living Solutions, said educating the public on that aspect is important. Prim is also part of a quick response team, which partners with the Mon County Health Department.
'Harm reduction, it's not enabling. If people are using clean needles and not transferring HIV and Hep C, stuff like that, because the treatment for Hep C is super expensive, so really they're saving money in the long run not having to treat people for those,' she said.
Prim added with naloxone, responders can't really stop people from using, but at least they can provide some Naloxone to stop someone from dying.
Prim has first hand experience with addiction. She's been clean for a little over six years.
'Some people, it takes a lot to, you know, sometimes experiencing that overdose, like dying and coming back, being brought back to life, can be the spark that some people need,' she said. 'We can't help people or connect them to all the other resources that are available if they're dead.'
Thomas said if recovery organizations lose access to naloxone, there may be a sharp increase in overdoses again. Narcan nasal sprays, like the ones provided to his organization through a SAMHSA grant, are expensive. Retail price ranges anywhere from $20 to $60.
'We are still in the middle of what's considered to be an opioid crisis where many people are dying needlessly,' Thomas said. 'That could be prevented through the availability of narcan and various forms of naloxone.'
Prim emphasized the human dimension of overdose deaths.
'We don't want people to die, because everyone has or is a mother or father, brother, sister, etc.,' she said. 'And losing people isn't what it's about. In our fight in the opioid epidemic, less people dead is the goal. And I think the amount of narcan that we get out in the community has played a huge effect on our overall death rate in West Virginia. So I think it would definitely be detrimental if that was taken away.'
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