All articles tagged with #samhsa
A new national study indicates rising cannabis use disorder rates among American men and women, driven by increased THC potency. Federal data shows daily cannabis use now exceeds alcohol and cigarettes, marking a significant cultural shift in substance consumption.
Following 2024 federal regulatory overhauls, a majority of opioid treatment programs have adopted flexible prescribing rules, including increased take-home medication and optional counseling, leading to higher patient retention rates. However, critics argue that implementation remains uneven, with large providers and conservative states lagging behind progressive regions, and that survey data may skew toward compliant clinics.
A federal SAMHSA-led study on alcohol’s health effects, shelved by the Trump administration and later published in a scientific journal, concludes there is no net health benefit from drinking and that even light alcohol use raises risks of death and disease, fueling debates about political interference in science as dietary guidelines move away from fixed drinking limits.
President Trump signed an executive order creating the White House Great American Recovery Initiative to coordinate federal grants and programs for addiction prevention, treatment and recovery, directing agencies to integrate prevention, early intervention, treatment, recovery support and re-entry; the initiative is chaired by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Kathryn Burgum and follows recent SAMHSA funding decisions.
The Department of Health and Human Services reinstated $2 billion in funding for SAMHSA’s mental health and substance-use programs after canceling it the day before, following pushback from physicians, advocates, and lawmakers who urged a more cautious, stable approach to health policy.
The federal SAMHSA announced broad cuts to behavioral health grants, potentially canceling up to 2,800 awards totaling as much as $1.9 billion—roughly a quarter of the agency’s budget—though some programs, such as Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, were spared. The moves, reportedly not coordinated with staff, threaten services from opioid treatment and homelessness programs to prison reentry and HIV/Hepatitis C prevention, provoking concern from advocates.
The Trump administration is slashing nearly $2 billion in federal funding for more than 2,000 programs that provide addiction prevention, treatment, recovery and mental health services, with SAMHSA notices effective immediately as the agency shifts priorities toward innovative interventions to combat rising mental illness, overdose, and suicide.
The Trump administration terminated about 2,800 discretionary SAMHSA grants worth roughly $1.9 billion as of Jan. 13, aimed at realigning the agency’s portfolio toward innovative programs; the cuts threaten access to mental health and addiction services, complicate 2026 funding negotiations, and come amid SAMHSA staffing declines, with potential funding gaps if Congress does not act before Jan. 30.
The Trump administration terminated about 2,706 discretionary SAMHSA grants worth roughly $1.9 billion, impacting on-the-ground mental health and addiction services. The cancellations, attributed to political appointees rather than career staff, affect programs including the Opioid Response Network and Building Communities of Recovery, and come as Medicaid cuts further squeeze public health funding.
Dozens of employees at SAMHSA, responsible for mental health and addiction initiatives including the 988 suicide prevention hotline, were laid off amid a government shutdown, affecting about 10% of its staff and impacting vital services.
SAMHSA's strategic priorities focus on preventing substance misuse, expanding crisis intervention, improving access to evidence-based treatments, addressing emerging behavioral health threats, and promoting data-driven, innovative solutions to improve mental health and substance use outcomes across the U.S., with an emphasis on protecting children, enforcing laws, and reducing disparities.
Joy Binion, a former SAMHSA analyst, discusses the significant impact of recent federal funding cuts and organizational restructuring on mental health services, emphasizing the loss of programs, data collection, and support systems crucial for vulnerable populations, especially in rural areas, and expressing concern over the long-term consequences for public health infrastructure.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is being consolidated into a new agency called the Administration for a Healthy America (AHA) under Robert F. Kennedy Jr., leading to significant staff reductions, budget cuts, and potential disruptions in mental health and addiction services, especially affecting rural communities. Critics warn that this restructuring could undermine evidence-based treatments and weaken public health efforts against addiction and mental health issues.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has released new guidance to help physicians identify mental health symptoms associated with long COVID. The guidelines provide a framework for understanding conditions such as anxiety, fatigue, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder that may stem from long COVID. The guidance emphasizes the need for multidisciplinary care and highlights the impact of social determinants of health on long COVID outcomes, particularly in vulnerable populations. Experts hope that increased recognition and understanding of these mental health symptoms will lead to better support and treatment for individuals with long COVID.