How President Trump’s tough drug policies are saving lives and crushing cartels

In President Trump’s first year in office, the United States reduced drug overdose deaths by more than 13,000 compared to the previous 12 months. This is more than a statistic: It is the thousands of mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends and neighbors who are alive today because of the decisive actions taken under his leadership. Deaths from drug overdoses are now lower than at any point during the Biden Administration and nearly 40,000 fewer than the previous Administration’s peak of almost 108,000.

This result is a historical result, but it is not sufficient. We must continue to fight every day to save lives from the chemical warfare waged by cartel terrorists against the American people.

This week, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) will continue our work to save lives with the unveiling of President Trump’s 2026 National Drug Control Strategy. Through implementation of the President’s Strategy, the United States will continue to build on our historic efforts to eliminate the illicit drug supply while bringing hope and healing to millions of Americans.

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We will continue to attack the drug supply at every stage. Collaborating with international partners, we leave narco-terrorist cartels nowhere to hide through enhanced intelligence sharing and law enforcement cooperation. Simultaneously, we are strangling their supply lines through enhanced interdiction and enhanced supply chain security.

Domestically, our southwestern border is the most secure it has ever been, so we are taking drugs off the streets faster than the Cartels can smuggle them in. ONDCP’s successful High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program will continue to be instrumental in this effort as it continues to coordinate the counterdrug activities of federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and is now further strengthened through collaborations with Homeland Security Task Forces.

As we continue to dismantle Cartel operations at home and abroad, we attack drug demand with the same ferocity. Under President Trump, our nation will no longer tolerate illicit drug use through misguided and ineffective harm reduction programs. Instead, we offer a new primary prevention framework to protect our nation’s children and reinforce the fact that a drug-free life is the social norm.

For those who already have an addiction problem, our goal is to make accessing treatment easier than continuing drug use. Under the strategy, we treat drug addiction the same way we treat infectious diseases, by improving early diagnosis and facilitating treatment in the early stages of addiction. The doctor who sees the cancer does not expect it to metastasize. We follow the same approach in treating addiction.

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Finally, for the first time, the Strategy recognizes the healing power of faith. Faith has proven to be extremely effective in helping many people recover from drug addiction. Considering that 83% of Americans believe in God or the universal spirit, embracing the power of faith has the potential to help millions of Americans heal.

The strategy marks the most ambitious approach to defeating the drug crisis in our nation’s history. Under President Trump, the entire federal government is united and doing everything it can to build a brighter, drug-free future.

But this is not a challenge the federal government can tackle alone. This is a challenge to the indomitable spirit of the American people, and everyone must do their part to realize this vision.

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This is not a Republican crisis or a Democratic crisis, it is an American crisis. Almost every community in our country has been harmed by illegal drugs. Whether a loved one dies from an overdose or drug-related violence, this community and our entire nation feels the pain of that loss. I ask that you remember them and honor their memory through action.

Talk to your children about the dangers of drug use. Encourage a loved one struggling with addiction to seek treatment before it’s too late. Invest your time in one of the excellent prevention and treatment programs across our country.

These actions may seem small, but together they will save the lives of our loved ones and countless Americans. Through the strategy, each action is reinforced by supporting actions from the federal government, making it possible for drug overdose deaths to begin a sustained downward trend.

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That’s how we win. Through every seizure, every recovery, and every prevention, we will reduce deaths from drug overdoses every year until the drug crisis is completely defeated.

President Trump is building the drug-free future America deserves, and we want you to be a part of it.