WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Rob Portman, R-Ohio, announced that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded $485 million in grants to help states fight the heroin and prescription drug epidemic, including $26 million for Ohio.
This is the second year in a row that Ohio has received funding through the CURES legislation that Portman helped to enact in 2016.
“This is good news for Ohio, and these new funds will help our efforts to combat the heroin and prescription drug epidemic gripping our state. My visits to treatment and recovery facilities in Mount Gilead and Columbus recently once again highlighted the glaring need for additional resources to combat this epidemic. I was proud to work on the CURES legislation and help secure opioid funding in the bill, and this legislation is now benefiting our state,” Portman said in a Thursday news release.
“This is another positive step forward, but we must do more, and that’s why I continue to push for common-sense solutions like the STOP Act and CARA 2.0 that will help us turn the tide of addiction in Ohio and around the country.”
The funding originates from the “21st Century CURES” initiative, legislation enacted in December 2016 that provided $1 billion over two years nationally to fight the heroin and prescription drug epidemic.
Portman had urged that opioid funding be included in the CURES package, and the funding awarded to states can be used for improving prescription drug monitoring programs, prevention, training for health care workers, and improving access to treatment for individuals struggling with a substance use disorder.
