The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) announced through this press release the largest-ever award of baseline funding to its High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Program. The announced funding includes a historic expansion of the innovative Overdose Response Strategy (ORS), which brings together drug intelligence officers and public health analysts at the local and regional level to share information and develop intervention and support services that reduce overdoses. The ORS will now extend to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

More than $273 million will be disbursed to 33 regional HIDTAs nationwide. Funding includes more than $5 million to expand and maintain the ORS.