2025 Impact Report Shows the Human and Economic Costs of Undermining Addiction Science

The National Prevention Science Coalition and the Addiction Science Defense Network have released the Addiction Science Under Siege: 2025 Impact Report, a comprehensive analysis of how recent federal actions are weakening the nation’s ability to prevent, treat, and monitor addiction. As one of the report’s contributors, I want to highlight why these findings matter deeply for communities like Jefferson County, where the addiction crisis continues to strain families, first responders, and local systems.

We are facing an addiction crisis that is evolving faster than the systems designed to respond to it. The report documents how federal funding cuts, administrative disruptions, and political interference have eroded the scientific infrastructure that states rely on to prevent substance use, expand treatment, and support long‑term recovery.

This is not a theoretical concern. In Jefferson County, we see the consequences every day: overdose deaths that devastate families, emergency departments stretched thin, law‑enforcement officers responding to preventable crises, and employers struggling to fill jobs because substance‑use disorders go untreated. These impacts fall disproportionately on rural and small communities that already operate with limited resources.

The report makes clear that effective prevention and treatment systems depend on stable federal research, strong data surveillance, and evidence‑based policies, programs, and practices. Yet these systems are eroding at the very moment we need them most. States and counties are being asked to manage fentanyl, xylazine, methamphetamine, and polysubstance use with fewer tools, less data, and shrinking scientific support.

For Jefferson County, this means our local health providers, schools, and community organizations are being forced to respond to a rapidly changing drug landscape without the federal infrastructure that once supported them. When national science is weakened, rural communities pay the highest price.

These findings reinforce the principles I stand for: honest work, real solutions, and a better West Virginia. Our communities deserve transparency, accountability, and practical approaches grounded in evidence — not politics. Families deserve systems that work. Workers deserve communities where they can thrive. And local leaders deserve the tools and data needed to make informed decisions that protect public health and strengthen our economy.

If we want to reduce deaths, strengthen families, and protect state and county budgets, the nation must restore and safeguard its addiction‑science capacity. That includes ensuring federal agencies can operate based on evidence, rebuilding the data systems that guide state and local decision‑making, and protecting the research pipeline that drives innovation in prevention, treatment, and recovery.

The bottom line is simple: weakening addiction science today guarantees higher human and economic costs tomorrow. Strengthening it is one of the most effective steps the country can take to protect communities like Jefferson County and build a healthier, more resilient future.

I encourage everyone to read the full report and add their voice to this national conversation.

Read the report here: Addiction Science Under Siege: 2025 Impact Report

Watch the launch event: The Addiction Science Under Siege Report