Trump Admin Halts Fentanyl Test Strip Funding

0:00It's April 28th. I'm Cory with The Story. This is US News Today, driven by AI and built for America. The Trump administration just dropped a big change in drug policy, halting federal funds for buying or handing out fentanyl test strips meant for. People actively use in drugs. This marks a sharp pivot away from supporting those tools that detect deadly contaminants like fentanyl and street drugs. Back in 2021, under Biden, the feds back these strips as overdose deaths skyrocketed from synthetic opioids. Now the substance abuse and mental health services administration sent a letter to grant recipients saying no more funding because the strips are designed for drug users themselves. Many states went ahead and legalized the strips anyway to fight those overdose numbers, which have dipped a bit from their peak, but still loom large, as a public health nightmare. Critics see this as the admin doubling down against harm reduction tactics that aim to make drug use less deadly. That said, federal cash can still flow for test strips in pro settings, like with public

1:04health workers, cops or docks on the front lines. They're keeping support from the lock zone to reverse overdoses, plus infectious disease checks and other prevention plays. This fits the bigger Trump push toward enforcement, prevention, treatment, and recovery, aiming to realign funds with what they call common sense. These amid the endless opioid fight.