As the death rate from opioid overdoses climbs, advocates in the recovery community initially urged President Donald Trump to install the White House's "drug czar" in his Cabinet. Now they are working to ensure the drug czar's office won't be scrapped entirely, according to STAT.
The shift of priorities follows a recent report from the White House that propose to eliminate the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy as a means to reduce the White House budget, according to the report. Some evidence shows that while the office's budget has gone up, drug use in the U.S. has remained stable or even increased, according to the report.
Leaders in the recovery community and law enforcement are mobilizing to save the office. The National Fraternal Order of Police prepared a letter to President Trump beseeching him to reject any proposal that calls for scrapping the office, according to the report. Advocates in the recovery community have also penned a letter in support of the office.
Those seeking to save the office argue cutting it will only yield minimal savings because a large portion of its funding goes to other agencies and programs that would likely continue in its absence.
The White House declined to comment on its plans for the office, according to STAT.