On the Hill…

SAMHSA

The Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is the lead federal agency for services related to the prevention of, treatment for, and recovery from substance use disorders. It is led by the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, a position appointed by the President. Three months into his term, President Biden has appointed Dr. Miriam Delphin-Rittmon of Connecticut to lead the agency.

Who’s that…

Dr. Miriam Delphin-Rittmon has had several positions at the national and state level. As the commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services, she has been committed to promoting recovery oriented, integrated, and culturally responsive services and systems that foster dignity, respect, and meaningful community inclusion. At Yale University, she maintains a faculty appointment in the Yale Department of Psychiatry and has been Director of Cultural Competence and Health Disparities Research and Consultation at Yale’s Program for Recovery and Community Health (PRCH), which is affiliated with the Connecticut Mental Health Center (CMHC). If confirmed, she will be the first person of color nominated to lead the agency.

In Other News…

SAMHSA is currently under the stewardship of Acting Director Tom Coderre, a former Faces & Voices employee and a man in long term recovery. In April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and SAMHSA announced that federal funding may now be used to purchase rapid fentanyl test strips (FTS) in an effort to help curb the dramatic spike in drug overdose deaths largely driven by the use of strong synthetic opioids, including illicitly manufactured fentanyl. FTS can be used to determine if drugs have been mixed or cut with fentanyl, providing people who use drugs and communities with important information about fentanyl in the illicit drug supply so they can take steps to reduce their risk of overdose. This change applies to all federal grant programs as long as the purchase of FTS is consistent with the purpose of the program.

In Action…

Current Administration

The Biden Administration also recently made good on their promise to reform the “X waiver,” after halting efforts of the previous administration to do the same. The Department of Health and Human Services has determined that under the new rules, doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, certified nurse midwives and some other types of nurses will be allowed to prescribe buprenorphine without first receiving specialized training. Health care providers will require additional training and federal waivers if they plan to treat more than 30 patients with the medication. Studies have shown that people taking the medication are less likely to develop HIV or hepatitis C, or to be unemployed or imprisoned.