Dear Friend,

Today marks 54 years since former President Richard Nixon declared a formal drug war. The results? A trail of devastation—more lives lost, more suffering, and a system that continues to fail the people it claims to protect. 

The results have been disastrous: 

• Drugs are cheaper, stronger, and easier to get than ever. Increasing enforcement to stop prescription opioids and heroin led to fentanyl entering the market. Now, concerning drugs like xylazine are showing up as a result of tougher fentanyl crackdowns. 

• Overdose deaths continue to be at crisis levels. Nearly 870,000 people have died from overdose in the last 10 years alone (2014–2024). One-third of Americans have lost someone they know to overdose. 

• Criminalization has stolen care and stability from millions. Over a million people are arrested each year for drug charges. Instead of receiving support, they’re pushed through a revolving door of incarceration, stripped of housing, jobs, and futures because of felony drug records. 

And yet, the U.S. government is doubling down on the failed drug war. 

Already, the Trump administration and Congress have slashed at least $400 million in federal funding that supports treatment, overdose prevention, and other health services. Just last month, the House passed Trump’s budget bill with devastating cuts to Medicaid, food assistance, and essential services—programs that keep Americans healthy and alive. All to fund tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy, attack immigrants, increase militarization on our streets, and expand a punitive approach to public health—using the drug war and threat of fentanyl as a justification. 

The results? More lives lost. More families grieving. More suffering. 

But there is another way, and it’s working. Recent declines in overdose deaths are the result of proven, compassionate public health and harm reduction strategies that save lives and connect people to care: 

• Naloxone access: A life-saving medication that can reverse opioid overdoses, including those involving fentanyl. 

• Medications for opioid use disorder: These reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms, helping people stabilize and recover. 

• Community-based harm reduction: Programs that prevent the spread of infectious diseases and can detect fentanyl and other adulterants in the drug supply. 

• Evidence-based treatment: Services that address the root causes of problematic drug use like trauma and mental health challenges. 

• Expanded social support: Because healing happens in community—not in isolation and not in a cell. 

These health and overdose prevention services save lives—but now, they’re under threat. 

Tell Trump and Congress: Protect funding for addiction treatment and health services that help people stay alive, be safe, and recover.

We don’t need another 50 years of the drug war.  

We need a future rooted in health, peace, dignity, and care. 

It’s past time that we focus on building our communities with the services and care they deserve and need.   

Let's end the drug war—for good.