The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Friday that it would unleash $58.8 million in federal grant dollars to combat what Attorney General Jeff Sessions referred to as “the deadliest drug crisis in American history.”
The bulk of the money, roughly $44 million, will go to local governments to help divert those affected by the opioid epidemic from entering prison, as well as alternatives to incarceration — $22.2 million of that funding will fund jurisdictions with drug courts and Veterans Treatment Courts.
In a statement, Sessions conveyed the urgency of the drug crisis facing Americans and that addressing the opioid epidemic would be a “top priority” for the Trump administration. "This is an urgent problem and we are making it a top priority,” he said.
“These trends are shocking and the numbers tell us a lot — but they aren’t just numbers. They represent moms and dads, brothers and sisters, neighbors and friends," Sessions added.