09.19.24

Cantwell-Championed Bill to Track Fentanyl Overdoses Introduced in Senate

The Opioid Overdose Data Collection Enhancement Act would expand use of tools that help communities record fatal and nonfatal overdoses in near-real-time

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced 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.

The bill, which was also drafted by Sen. Cantwell, would specifically encourage DOJ to award grants to adopt and implement the existing Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program (ODMAP). During Sen. Cantwell’s 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 surveillance of known or suspected overdose incidents across the United States and its territories, and support public safety and public health efforts to coordinate immediate responses to a sudden spike in overdoses.

“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.”

“The fight to end addiction and drug abuse in our communities requires a robust understanding of the problem at hand. By investing in local partners, we empower communities to more effectively track drug abuse trends and prevent future overdoses,” Sen. Grassley said. “I’m glad to support this cost-effective plan to expand this vital program.”

“Knowing when and where multiple overdoses are occurring can improve first responders’ ability to swiftly and effectively deploy opioid reversal medicines and critical resources,” said Sen. Cornyn. “This legislation would help those working against the clock on the front lines to access real-time data tracking that can help them fight hotspots when they emerge and save lives.”

“We commend the efforts of Senators Cantwell and Grassley for their work on the Opioid Overdose Data Collection Enhancement Act. Developing a clear picture of where fatal and non-fatal drug poisonings and overdoses occur allows law enforcement and public health professionals to dedicate the needed resources to areas experiencing spikes in incidences,” said Eric Brown, President of the National Narcotic Officers’ Associations’ Coalition.

“The National High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Director’s Association (NHDA) would like to thank Senators Cantwell and Grassley, along with their colleagues in the Senate for their strong commitment in getting the “Opioid Overdose Data Enhancement Act” drafted and introduced on the Senate floor.  This Act will increase the public awareness on the dangers of synthetic opioids and address the crisis negatively impacting communities across the country. Your sponsorship of this legislation provides both crucial resources to the 33 HIDTAs across the country, law enforcement, treatment, prevention, and public health to fight against alarming increases in overdose deaths from fentanyl.  The NHDA thanks you for your leadership on this important issue,” said F. Mike McDaniel, President of the National HIDTA Directors Association.

“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.

“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. “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. “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, 71 agencies across 17 counties in Washington state use ODMAP, and have logged 4,114 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 data dashboards is from 2022.

For the past 15 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:

  • The Fatal Overdose Reduction Act, which would expand an evidence-based, low-barrier fentanyl treatment pilot program across the United States;
  • The FEND Off Fentanyl Act, which will help U.S. government agencies disrupt opioid supply chains by imposing sanctions on traffickers and fighting money laundering; and
  • The Fight Illicit Pill Presses Act, which would require that all pill presses be engraved with a serial number and impose penalties for the removal or alteration of the number.

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.  The funding breakdown includes:

  • $201 million for construction and infrastructure activities for drive-through NII deployment;
  • $75.5 million for the Fentanyl Initiative for NII at ports of entry and for labs at eight ports of entry;
  • $65.3 million to procure and deploy new NII detection devices;
  • $14.4 million to procure advanced Computed Tomography scanners for deployment to mail and courier facilities;
  • $12.6 million for artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities; and
  • $12.1 million for system integration that brings together the use of the scanning, machine learning and other customs data.

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