U.S. Attorney Announces $14M in DOJ Grants to Combat Addiction Crisis

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – United States Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger today announced awards of $14,330,170 in Department of Justice grants to fight drug abuse and addiction in the Eastern District of Virginia.

“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.”

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.

“During my time as U.S. Attorney, we have been laser-focused on the goal of reducing deaths involving opioids and the addiction crisis through coordinated, community-wide solutions targeting both the supply of and demand for opioids,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “We have enacted a robust enforcement policy, investigating and prosecuting drug traffickers whose poison causes death and other non-fatal overdoses. We have also developed key community partnerships for an all-hands-on-deck approach. And we have invested valuable resources in prevention efforts through community outreach, increasing education and raising awareness of the dangers of addiction through our Silent No More program. While I am proud of this work and our accomplishments, I recognize that we must remain vigilant in our efforts to combat this crisis. With this commitment, I am confident that the work we do will account for the number of lives saved in the coming months and years.”

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. Three years ago, President Trump declared a Public Health Emergency and initiated a whole-of-government approach dedicated to ending this national tragedy. The Department of Justice has invested unprecedented levels of funding in combating the addiction crisis. The awards announced today build on those earlier investments.

“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.”

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.

For a complete list of individual grant programs, award amounts, and jurisdictions that will receive funding, click here. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.