12.18.24

Cantwell Bill to Improve Fentanyl Overdose Tracking Unanimously Passes Senate

The Opioid Overdose Data Collection Enhancement Act would expand use of tools that record fatal and nonfatal overdoses in near-real-time; WA first responders confirm that better data collection could help identify overdose hotspots so they can deploy resources faster & save lives

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the United States Senate unanimously passed the Opioid Overdose Data Collection Enhancement Act, which would direct the Department of Justice (DOJ) to award grants to states, units of local government, law enforcement task forces, and tribes to adopt and implement an overdose data collection program, including the Overdose Data Mapping Application Program (ODMAP).

The bill was drafted by U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and introduced by Sen. Cantwell in September alongside Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and John Cornyn (R-TX).

“When responding to fentanyl overdoses, an extra minute can save a life,” said Sen. Cantwell. “Tracking fatal and non-fatal opioid overdoses will help our first responders, law enforcement, and public health professionals better target and prevent OD spikes and surge resources to communities that need them the most.”

“By expanding access to overdose data collection programs, Congress empowers local communities to face drug abuse trends head on and prevent future fatalities,” Sen. Grassley said. “I’m proud to see the Senate unanimously pass our bipartisan legislation to identify and quickly respond to overdoses, and urge the House to swiftly follow suit.”

The bill now awaits consideration by the House of Representatives.

During Sen. Cantwell’s 10-city fentanyl roundtable tour across Washington state, she heard from multiple officials on the front lines of the epidemic that expanding ODMAP could help prevent overdoses and save lives. Expanding ODMAP would provide near real-time awareness of known or suspected overdose incidents across the United States, supporting public safety and public health efforts to coordinate immediate responses to sudden spikes in overdoses.

"By leveraging improved data and mapping technology made possible through this bill, Spokane’s first responders will be able to deploy resources more swiftly and effectively, ultimately saving more lives during critical overdose emergencies,” said Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown.

“ODMAP creates a unified, real-time system to track and respond to overdoses, enabling first responders, health departments, and law enforcement to allocate resources more effectively. By identifying overdose hotspots and trends as they happen, we can deploy targeted interventions and engage communities in prevention efforts,” said Grant County Sheriff Joey Kriete.

“Yakima County, like much of the nation, has experienced a drastic uptick in the number of illicit drug overdoses. We need solutions, and we quickly identified a tactic that would help guide us to solutions: ODMAP. Accurate information about all overdoses will allow us to know exactly the scope of the problem, giving us direction on where and how to direct resources. The solution to this crisis cannot be found without real and accurate information on what is really happening,” said Yakima County Sheriff Robert Udell.

“Having a single platform to share overdose data is essential to saving lives, guiding decisions, and preventing overdoses. ODMAP (Overdose Mapping) is the platform.  ODMAP allows for the collaboration and real-time data sharing between law enforcement, fire departments, EMS, hospitals, and health departments,” said Kennewick Police Chief Chris Guerrero.

“ODMAP is a game-changer in fighting the overdose epidemic! With the real-time data from ODMAP, responders and communities can monitor overdose events, identify patterns, deploy resources where needed, and ultimately save lives! In the State of Washington, we currently only track overdose deaths which grossly underestimates the true magnitude of the overdose epidemic (by 6200%),” said Alicia Stromme Tobin, Executive Director of Safe Yakima Valley. “ODMAP provides agencies with a tool to track fatal and nonfatal overdoses. By providing a comprehensive view of overdose trends, ODMAP fosters collaboration across public health, law enforcement and EMS, allowing for more targeted interventions and prevention efforts. I applaud Senator Cantwell for recognizing the tremendous positive impact ODMAP will have on saving lives! Congratulations and well done!”

“Solutions start with a hope, hope is the gateway for innovation and collaboration, and efforts like ODMAP are the tools that communities need to impact the fentanyl crisis and save lives,” said Yakima Police Department Lt. Chad Janis.

"Using ODMAP locally throughout our county has already proven invaluable in identifying overdose hotspots and enabling rapid, targeted responses. Expanding its use statewide has the potential to transform how we address the fentanyl crisis in Washington. By standardizing overdose tracking across the state, we can pinpoint trends, respond more effectively, and deploy life-saving resources faster than ever. This tool is more than just data—it empowers us to act decisively and collaboratively to save lives and combat this devastating epidemic,” said Melissa Sixberry, Director of Disease Control at the Yakima Health District.

“In order to make the most appropriate moves to facilitate change, we must have good, accurate data. Otherwise we are blindly throwing darts at a board. ODMAP will allow for the most appropriate distribution of resources to help combat the nation-wide opioid epidemic. Without it, we will continue to potentially ignore high impacted areas that may desperately the assistance,” said Cameron Haubrich, Chief of the Sunnyside Fire Department.

"The Opioid Overdose Data Collection Enhancement Act will provide key data in a timely manner to help drive effective policy and action in addressing the opioid crisis.    Information gathered and made available to the various components of the system that is responding to address this critical need, including Fire Districts will help us make informed decisions to best deploy our resources in the most effective way possible,” said John Nohr, Fire Chief of Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue.

“Access to accurate, timely data around opioid overdoses is critical to responding effectively to the opioid crisis. With the right tools, we can save lives. We are thankful for the dedicated work of our legislators to elevate this issue and support evidence-based solutions,” said Allison Berry, Health Officer for Clallam County & Jefferson County.

“Over the past two years, the City of Seattle has learned firsthand how critical timely, accurate, and detailed overdose data can be. Knowing when and where overdoses happen and granular details such as Naloxone use has helped us design and deploy targeted overdose prevention and response teams. Our recent adoption of ODMAP has enhanced these capabilities. We strongly endorse legislation that will bring these vital tools to other communities,” said Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins upon the bill’s introduction in September.

“This bill would help Everett and communities across the country address the fentanyl and opioid crisis by implementing proven cutting-edge data tools to track overdoses,” said Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin upon the bill’s introduction in September. “The City of Everett supports all efforts to implement data-driven methods to address this critical issue and is proud to support the Opioid Overdose Data Collection Enhancement Act.”

“The opioid epidemic affects all corners of our community,” said King County Sheriff Patricia Cole-Tindall upon the bill’s introduction in September. “I welcome Senator Cantwell’s efforts to help address this by building on the programs we have in place. Bringing more resources to fight this crisis is an essential step in saving lives.”

ODMAP was developed in 2017 by the Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) as a free, web-based, mobile-friendly platform for near real-time reporting and monitoring of suspected fatal and non-fatal overdose events, as well as instances where opioid overdose reversal medications such as Naloxone were administered. It displays overdose data within and across jurisdictions, helping agencies identify spikes and clusters of suspected overdose events in their community, neighboring communities, and across the country.

As of October 2023, approximately 4,800 agencies across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico are using the platform. Over 2.2 million overdose events have been entered into ODMAP and 32,000 users registered.

Washington state has not adopted ODMAP statewide, however, localities in the state utilize the program. So far in 2024, 75 agencies across 17 counties in Washington state use ODMAP, and have logged 6,357 entries into ODMAP. Yakima County and the City of Seattle have recently implemented programming that allows their data to instantaneously populate the ODMAP dashboard with all overdose responses. Elsewhere in the state, ODMAP coverage is limited and therefore only captures a portion of the overdose instances occurring. 

Currently, overdose data in Washington state is only available to government health partners and only contains fatal overdose cases (which are released months or years after the fact). Overdose counts are released publicly via Washington State’s Department of Health website. However, they only provide instances of fatal overdoses (a small fraction of all overdose incidents) and are hampered by significant delays. Currently, the most recent data populating the DOH overdose death rate data dashboard is from 2023.

For the past 18 months, Sen. Cantwell has been traveling across the State of Washington hearing from people in 10 communities on the front lines of the fentanyl crisis, including first responders, law enforcement, health care providers, and people with firsthand experience of fentanyl addiction. She’s using what she heard in those roundtables to craft and champion specific legislative solutions, including:

In addition, Sen. Cantwell voted for a series of federal funding bills allocating $1.69 billion to combat fentanyl and other illicit drugs coming into the United States, including an additional $385.2 million to increase security at U.S. ports of entry, with the goal of catching more illegal drugs like fentanyl before they make it across the border.  Critical funding will go toward Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) technology at land and sea ports of entries. NII technologies—like large-scale X-ray and Gamma ray imaging systems, as well as a variety of portable and handheld technologies—allow U.S. Customs and Border Protection to help detect and prevent contraband from being smuggled into the country without disrupting flow at the border.

A full timeline of Sen. Cantwell’s actions to combat the fentanyl crisis is available HERE.