One American Dies Every 9 Minutes: AG Announces Millions in Grants to Combat Meth & Opioids

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced over $12 million in grant funding through the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services to support law enforcement agencies across the country in combating the illegal manufacturing and distribution of methamphetamine, heroin, and prescription opioids.

Sessions also said he has directed his U.S. attorneys to designate an opioid coordinator to work with prosecutors and other federal, state, trial and local law enforcement to better coordinate opioid prosecutions.

"Today we are facing the worst drug crisis in American history, with one American dying of a drug overdose every nine minutes," Sessions said.

Every day, 55 Americans die from overdoses of synthetic opioids, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Since 1999, overdose threats from opioids, including prescription opioids and heroin, have more than quadrupled. 

"I want to commend President Trump for his commitment to turning the tide of the drug epidemic," Sessions said. "Law enforcement is indispensable to that goal. When we enforce our drug laws, we prevent the spread of addiction and its horrific consequences. These new resources we announce today will help our law enforcement officers be even more effective at protecting us from the drugs that are ruining lives across America."

The DEA also plans to establish its new division, the Louisville Field Division, on Jan. 1, 2018 to unify all of its drug trafficking investigations. 

The division will include Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia and focus on illicit drug trafficking in the Appalachian Mountains.

"This change will produce more effective investigations on heroin, fentanyl and prescription opioid trafficking, all of which have a significant impact on the region," said Acting DEA Administrator Robert W. Patterson.

Sessions's announcement was the latest action taken by the Justice Department to try to stem the increasing opioid-related overdose deaths. Earlier this month, the department announced that anyone who possesses, imports, distributes or manufactures any fetanyl-related substance can be criminally prosecuted.