Fund Lifesaving Services. Stop Killing People.

The federal government is gutting lifesaving health solutions to address overdose and addiction. This includes massive cuts to Medicaid, the largest funder of addiction treatment. And cuts to the CDC and SAMHSA, which have provided people nationwide with services that save lives such as naloxone, fentanyl test strips, addiction treatment, recovery supports, and so much more. And Congress could make even more cuts to these critical agencies soon.

At the same time, the administration is killing people abroad. Unauthorized U.S. military strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific have continued, killing a total of at least 83 people. Officials have invoked the overdose crisis to justify these deaths, yet fentanyl is not produced in Venezuela. These illegal killings mark a dangerous expansion of the drug war, where drugs are used as a pretext for reckless violence, threatening the safety of us all.

Our response must be clear and collective: Urge Congress to restore lifesaving health services and stop killing people. Join us, parents who lost children to overdose, anti-war and human right advocates by taking action today.

Learn more about our partners: Broken No More, Win Without War, A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment and Healing) and Washington Office on Latin America.

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Your Message

Subject

Dear Representative/Senator,

Message Body

I am concerned about fentanyl and about the U.S. government’s response to it. Officials are cutting critical addiction treatment and overdose prevention services that protect people from fentanyl. At the same time, they are carrying out deadly boat strikes near Venezuela under the guise of stopping fentanyl trafficking—even though fentanyl is not produced there.

The federal government has drastically cut Medicaid, the largest funder of addiction treatment, and made steep cuts to the CDC and SAMHSA which have provided people nationwide with services that save lives such as naloxone, fentanyl test strips, addiction treatment, recovery supports, and so much more. These are proven interventions to reduce fentanyl overdose, reduce its craving, and even detect fentanyl so people don’t use it. And Congress could make even more cuts to these and other critical agencies soon when they negotiate the budget for the Department of Health and Human Services.

In 2024, U.S. overdose deaths fell 27%. That decline was driven by sustained investments by CDC and SAMHSA in prevention, treatment, overdose response, infectious disease prevention, and recovery supports under the last three administrations. These are solutions that have driven recent declines in overdose deaths and cutting them will cost lives. I urge you to do everything you can to ensure these lifesaving services are funded.

While services are cut here at home, the administration is escalating war tactics and killing people abroad. Unauthorized U.S. military strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific have rapidly escalated, killing a total of at least 83 people since September 2025. Government officials have invoked the overdose crisis to justify these deaths, yet fentanyl is not produced in Venezuela. These illegal killings mark a dangerous expansion of the drug war, where drugs are used as a pretext for reckless violence, threatening the safety of us all.  I urge you to demand and ensure that the U.S. Congress formally investigate and put an end to these lethal military strikes.

There’s no evidence that leaning into this failed war approach will help communities struggling with addiction, especially in the face of dramatic funding cuts to public health. Despite trillions of dollars spent to stop the illicit drug supply, illegal drugs remain plentiful and readily available. Crackdowns are short-lived, markets adjust, and drug suppliers respond to enforcement pressures by producing more potent and dangerous drugs that are easier to conceal and transport. For example, when the U.S. federal government criminalized all fentanyl-related substances in 2018, overdose deaths rose by 60% in four years—from 67,367 deaths in 2018, to 107,941 in 2022. The policy further opened the door for newer drugs to enter the market and our streets. The administration’s choice to engage in lethal military operations against those suspected to be transporting drugs is an alarming escalation of this failed approach.

By intensifying the drug war abroad and cutting the services that save lives at home, the federal government is taking us backward. I urge you to do everything you can to fund the health solutions that actually work such as access to naloxone, fentanyl test strips, addiction treatment, and recovery supports. And I urge you to demand and ensure that Congress exert its authority to help stop the unauthorized killings abroad and formally investigate the lethal military strikes that have taken place in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean.

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]
[Your Address]

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*Disclaimer: This action is a collaboration between the Drug Policy Alliance, Broken No More, Win Without War, A New Path, and Washington Office on Latin America. By taking this action, you agree to receive periodic email communications from these organizations.