Key Takeaways:
- The Trump administration’s proposed cuts to federal funding for law enforcement and public health agencies could have a devastating impact on Alaska’s efforts to combat overdose deaths.
- Alaska has struggled to curtail overdose deaths, despite a general decline in national overdose fatalities, and law enforcement and public health experts are sounding the alarm.
- The proposed 35% cut to Alaska’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) funding could increase the flow of fentanyl into the state and put more people at risk of overdose death.
- Changes to Medicaid under the "big, beautiful bill" could also put more people at risk for overdose by taking away their access to substance use treatment.
- The Trump administration’s war on cartels has focused on Venezuela, which primarily exports cocaine, not fentanyl or other opioids, and there is no direct evidence that the boats targeted in the attacks even contained drugs.
Introduction to the Crisis
The Trump administration’s proposed cuts in federal funding for law enforcement and public health agencies could have a devastating impact on Alaska, which has struggled to curtail overdose deaths even amid a general decline in national overdose fatalities. Law enforcement and public health experts are sounding the alarm as the Trump administration has prioritized waging its "war on drugs" outside US shores, including with a controversial bombing campaign of fishing boats off the coast of Venezuela. For Sean Case, the police chief in Anchorage, the real battle is at home. Alaska has yet to see a sustained decline or even plateau in overdose fatalities – and now he worries about looming cuts to the resources that save lives and stop the flow of drugs into the state.
The Impact of Funding Cuts
The expected 35% cut to Alaska’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) funding, a federal program that was established in 1988 and designed to provide US government assistance to local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas deemed to be key drug trafficking regions, could ultimately increase the flow of fentanyl into Alaska, and thus increase Alaskans’ risk of overdose death. Richard Frank, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who helped shape opioid policy during the Obama administration, said changes to Medicaid under the "big, beautiful bill" could also put more people at risk for overdose by taking away their access to substance use treatment. The Trump administration’s proposed 2026 fiscal year budget would substantially shrink agencies that help track and prevent addiction and overdoses.
Challenges in Alaska
Alaska faces many challenges that other states don’t when it comes to keeping fentanyl out of the state. Cornelius Sims, commander of the drug unit for the Alaska state troopers, said he has only 27 "boots on the ground" devoted to drug interdiction for an area more than twice the size of Texas. Some areas of Alaska don’t have any police coverage, according to Ed Mercer, director of Alaska’s HIDTA initiative. Case, the Anchorage police chief, explained that Alaska’s size, and its lack of a central freeway system that connects the state, also make drug interdiction an uphill battle. Most illicit drugs come into Alaska through the mail, where Anchorage is the first point of entry. This is especially the case for fentanyl and other highly potent synthetic drugs that come in the form of powders that take up minimal space.
The Role of HIDTA
Alaska was designated a HIDTA region relatively recently, in 2018, and Case said HIDTA’s resources and coordination have had a huge impact, in part because it gives police the ability to coordinate with other law enforcement agencies. "Over the last two years, we’ve had the highest success rate of drug interdiction than we’ve ever had before. And that’s all our HIDTA teams," Case said. HIDTA funding allows Alaska regions to coordinate with one another as well as other state and federal partners to investigate cartels, where in the past they only had the resources to track down low-level offenders. Every HIDTA agency in Alaska meets each summer to compare notes on drug-related crimes and coordinate their investigations, according to Case. This year’s summer operation led to 27 arrests.
The Impact of Medicaid Cuts
The "big, beautiful bill" will require Medicaid recipients to work 80 hours a month, which could mean many people with substance use disorders lose access to treatment, according to Frank. While the bill technically includes exemptions for people struggling with addiction, "there are all sorts of wrinkles in that," according to Frank. Substance use patients might also have to submit paperwork to prove that they qualify for exemptions, Frank said, adding that these "hassle factors" are especially hard for people with addictions. These cuts could also threaten Alaska’s rapidly expanding availability of inpatient treatment beds for people with substance use disorders. Frank said that inpatient facilities are especially important in Alaska, where cold weather and long distances from health facilities can make outpatient treatment harder to access.
Community Response
Various organizations and individual community volunteers are working together to combat the opioid crisis in Alaska. Sandy Snodgrass, whose son Bruce died of a fentanyl overdose in 2021, has become an outspoken advocate on overdose prevention. She has received funding from HIDTA to promote fentanyl awareness and thinks Alaska needs more HIDTA coverage, not less. "It’s just going to take a lot of work from law enforcement," she said, adding that fentanyl fatalities are "not getting any better yet." Case and other Alaska police chiefs sent letters to Alaska senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, urging them to fight the cuts. "The level of interdiction is the highest it’s ever been," Case said, adding, "We’re just scratching the surface." Instead of cuts to HIDTA funding, Case said Alaska needs more of it.
Conclusion
The Trump administration’s proposed cuts to federal funding for law enforcement and public health agencies could have a devastating impact on Alaska’s efforts to combat overdose deaths. The state’s unique challenges, including its size and lack of police coverage, make it particularly vulnerable to the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs. The proposed cuts to HIDTA funding and changes to Medicaid under the "big, beautiful bill" could put more people at risk for overdose and undermine the progress that has been made in expanding access to substance use treatment. It is essential that policymakers prioritize the needs of Alaska and other states struggling with the opioid crisis, and work to ensure that they have the resources they need to combat this public health emergency.