U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida issued the following announcement on Oct. 16.
Lawrence Keefe, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida,announced $1,754,128 in Department of Justice grants to fight drug abuse and addiction. The grants were awarded by the Department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) and are part of more than $341 million going to communities nationwide.
“Although we are making progress, too many lives are still being destroyed due to the opioid addiction crisis,” said U.S. Attorney Keefe. “The Justice Department is committed to protecting public health and safety, and these grants provide needed funds to do just that. I’m pleased to announce that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement was awarded more than $1.7 million to help develop and implement residential substance abuse treatment programs within our state and local correctional facilities.”
Illegal drugs and illicit drug use have claimed the lives of nearly 400,000 Americans since the turn of the century. Powerful synthetic opioids like fentanyl are exacting an enormous toll on families and communities, and an emergence in the use of methamphetamines and other psychostimulants is drawing drug traffickers and driving up overdose rates. The Department of Justice has invested unprecedented levels of funding in combating the addiction crisis. The awards announced build on those earlier investments.
“The addiction crisis has taken an enormous toll on America’s families and communities, eroding public health, threatening public safety and claiming tens of thousands of lives year after year,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “Through comprehensive measures taken by this administration, we have been able to curtail the opioid epidemic, but new and powerful drugs are presenting exceptional challenges that we must be prepared to meet. The Justice Department’s substantial investments in enforcement, response, and treatment will help us overcome these challenges and work towards freeing Americans from abuse and addiction.”
Funding is made available through OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, National Institute of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement received $1,754,128 through the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners Program. The Bureau of Justice Assistance awarded a total of $28 million to support this program, which helps states develop and implement residential substance abuse treatment programs within state and local correctional facilities.
“If we hope to defeat an enemy as powerful, persistent and adaptable as illicit drugs, we must be at least as determined and versatile, focusing our ingenuity and resources on curbing abuse and fighting addiction,” said OJP’s Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan. “These grants will enable criminal justice officials and substance abuse, mental health and other medical professionals to pool their assets and bring the full weight of our public safety and treatment systems down on this epidemic that has already caused so much harm.”
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