Trump looks to end $56 million grant to give Narcan to first responders to help save lives during an overdose

The Trump administration is looking at plans to end a $56 million annual grant program that distributes the overdose-countering medication Narcan to first responders across the country, according to a draft proposal.

A preliminary budget document, obtained by The Washington Post, reportedly calls for deep cuts to federal health programs and targets multiple addiction prevention and treatment programs, including training of community responders to administer Narcan.

Narcan – known generically as naloxone – is a nasal spray that works to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose in two to three minutes. It is widely used to combat overdoses from serious drugs, including fentanyl.

Though state and local governments have alternative resources than federal programs to obtain Narcan, experts are concerned that the axing of the grant may send a message about the government’s view on such training.

“Reducing the funding for naloxone and overdose prevention sends the message that we would rather people who use drugs die than get the support they need and deserve,” Dr Melody Glenn, an addiction medicine physician and assistant professor at the University of Arizona, told The New York Times.

The grants were awarded through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services. The administration would be eliminated under the draft budget proposal, per the Post

“Narcan has been kind of a godsend as far as opioid epidemics are concerned, and we certainly are in the middle of one now with fentanyl,” Donald McNamara of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department told The Times. “We need this funding source because it’s saving lives every day.”

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 66,000 police officers, firefighters and other emergency responders were trained in 2024 using the grant money. Over 282,500 Narcan kits were distributed.

The proposal to cut the program and other treatment programs comes in somewhat surprising contrast to the views of newly instated health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been vocal in his desire to address America’s drug crisis.

Last year, during his independent presidential campaign, Kennedy, who has spoken publicly of his own heroin addiction, produced a documentary that outlined addiction support with federal backing.

The Independent has requested comment from the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services about reports that the grant will be cut.