Public Awareness

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) should develop an early identification campaign for mental health and substance use disorders (MH/SUDs) that is similar to the agency’s "Learn the Signs. Act Early. Program," which focuses on learning and knowing the signs of developmental delays in children.[1]

Congress should pass the STRIP Act to amend the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to exempt individuals from punishment for the possession, sale, or purchase of fentanyl drug testing equipment.

Congress should pass the Stop Mental Health Stigma in Our Communities Act, which would require the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to develop and implement an outreach and education strategy in the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community to promote mental health and reduce stigma associated with mental health and substance use disorders (MH/SUD).[1][2]

Congress should pass the Elder Justice Reauthorization and Modernization Act of 2023, which would reauthorize the Elder Justice Act and appropriate $250 million to address social isolation and loneliness for older adults.

The Biden-Harris Administration launched a campaign for youth on the dangers of fentanyl.[1] Funding and support for this campaign should be sustained as fentanyl continues to be involved in more deaths of Americans under 50 than any cause of death, including heart disease, cancer, homicide, suicide and other accidents.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) should work with states to standardize procedures and reporting of drug-related and suicide deaths.