Weekly Update: February 2-6, 2026

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That was the week that was. 

This week brought an even greater than usual surge of bad news from the Administration, in particular the appropriations bill that was signed by President Trump to fund the Dept. of Health and Human Services and the issuing of an Administration plan to focus resources on recovery. This is the culmination of a year-long process of Administration attempts to change the scientific infrastructure that includes addiction research and practice. 

An analysis of the Final FY 2026 LHHS Appropriations Bill issued on February 4, 2026 by the Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA) tells a “largely positive story” at least with regard to appropriations (*FY-2026-Final-LHHS-Appropriations-Analysis.pdf). For example, NIDA and NIAAA are to receive the same funding levels as last year even though the President originally proposed a 40 percent cut to the NIH total budget. A directive in the law  “effectively freezes the Administration’s current efforts to impose a flat 15 percent cap but does not settle the issue entirely.”   

The final LHHS bill also includes language about multi-year funding of NIH awards, a practice that will make application success rates plummet and significantly reduce the number of awards NIH can fund. The language does not prohibit NIH from making multi-year awards in FY 2026 but tries to limit the amount of funds obligated to the amount spent in FY 2025.

Notably, the final agreement rejects the President’s proposal to eliminate CDC’s the Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, which includes their alcohol and smoking programs. Because staff for these programs have been retired or otherwise eliminated, the re-instatement of funding may not be capable of reviving those programs.

The approved budget may not be as bad as we had all feared. According to the Drug Policy Alliance, this funding is critical for supporting naloxone access, treatment beds, fentanyl test strips, and other lifesaving health services nationwide, and it was only possible because of the advocacy provided by organizations like DPA and ASDN.

But reports from organizations and the media suggesting that science was salvaged are not taking into account the realities on the ground. Note that this does not replace the massive cuts to Medicaid, addiction, and overdose prevention funding that were made last year, including the $1 trillion cut from Medicaid, which is the largest source of addiction treatment in the U.S.  Grant processes are broken, thousands of scientists are unemployed, and critical studies have been interrupted or terminated. So despite the level funding for NIAAA and NIDA, the situation could get worse with additional anticipated institute closures and firings, some grants “reinstated” but not funded, political operatives making review and award decisions, topics that remain taboo, and national datasets disappeared. The top line budget is not indicative of how/whether/what science will be carried out.

Lurking in the background, the Peer review/merit system for awarding NIH grants is at risk in 2026. According to our contacts, Bhattacharya and the Republicans have a plan to dismantle it, even without Congressional approval. They are calling their plan the "unified strategy".  Although no addiction and mental health institutes will be eliminated or consolidated, the institutes and agencies most engaged in addiction science and practice will continue to experience death by a thousand cuts. For a critical analysis of what these budget bills mean, see The NIH Funding Bill and the Uncertainty It Cannot Resolve

Great American Skullduggery Initiative. 

Ironically, as ASDN is moving toward the release of our own impact report documenting the extensive damage done to addiction science by the Administration, the President issued an Executive Order (Addressing Addiction through the Great American Recovery Initiative – The White House) as if to detract from the findings in our report. The impacts we document stand in sharp contrast with the January 29, 2026 Executive Order that promises to coordinate among numerous federal agencies to implement the Great American Recovery Initiative. Without providing any supporting evidence, the order claims that “Over the past year, we have made incredible progress in stopping the inflow of illegal drugs that threaten American communities.” Although the President’s order mentions that “My Administration will drive a new national response to the disease of addiction…,” the focus on “recovery” leaves out complementary approaches typically applied in a national response to addiction, such as supply control measures, harm reduction and prevention.  All of these initiatives have been decimated during the past year. Nor does the order mention the role of research in developing better services, and the immediate need for funding to NIAAA and NIDA to continue without logistical interference and political review. Following the Executive order, the White House announced that it would be spending 100 million to implement the recovery initiative , but the programs mentioned in this plan seem to be divorced from any scientific research on treatment or prevention of substance use disorders.

MAHA Mahem Dept.  

At the same time when the Administration is launching its Great American Recovery Initiative, which has a strong focus on opioid addiction, it is continuing to dismantle the federal data sets that provide the vital statistics needed to identify emerging epidemics and monitor the impact of programs aimed at recovery.  A report this week from NOTUS (Federal Data Is Disappearing - NOTUS — News of the United States) covers the story of an Administration at war with public health science.

Grant Witness is tracking SAMHSA Grant Terminations. 

The new SAMSHA grant tracker by Grant Witness (https://grant-witness.us/posts/2026-01-16_samhsa-jan-terminations/) provides SAMHSA funding and de-funding information to those who need to stay informed. 

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