Congress members are urging the federal behavioral health agency to reverse course and allow funding to be used for harm-reduction tools, such as drug-testing strips to detect fentanyl.
New guidance from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration says that funding can’t be used to purchase test kits for fentanyl or xylazine, or to support overdose hotlines. The agency, which is housed under Health and Human Services, disperses grants to groups working to address mental health and substance use disorder challenges across the US.
“SAMHSA’s new guidance defies evidence showing that harm reduction for substance use reduces overdose deaths ...