4 June 2026
Each month, our secretariat shares something they have been reading, listening to, or watching that has inspired or challenged them. This month, INHSU Executive Director Emma Day reflects on a report she believes deserves global attention: Addiction Science Under Siege: The 2025 Impact of Federal Actions on Research, Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery by the Addiction Science Defense Network (ASDN).
This month I’ve been inspired by work of the Addiction Science Defense Network (ASDN), particularly their report “Addiction Science Under Siege: The 2025 Impact of Federal Actions on Research, Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery.”
The report examines the first year of the second Trump administration and its impact on addiction science, as well as prevention and treatment services in the United States. While the focus is domestic, the ripple effects are global and will be felt for years to come.
The changes introduced threaten the viability of a field that has consistently demonstrated both cost-effectiveness and profound impact on people’s lives, not just across American society, but internationally.
This is a bold and urgent report. A clarion call for the active defence of addiction science.
It lays out the impacts of cuts, restructuring, and disruption across seven key areas:
- Impacts on addiction science infrastructure at the NIH, particularly workforce reductions and the loss of institutional knowledge
- Impacts on other federal agencies, including SAMHSA’s reduced capacity to fund prevention and treatment at the state level, alongside damage to international collaboration due to U.S. withdrawal from UN health bodies and reduced funding for substance-use-related issues (e.g. HIV) following the dismantling of USAID programs
- Weakening of public health surveillance and data infrastructure
- Cuts to prevention, harm reduction, and treatment services
- Impacts on education and training
- Impacts on scientific knowledge production
- Costs to taxpayers and society
The report launch included a webinar featuring leaders in addiction science who now find themselves on the frontlines of protecting this work. They spoke powerfully about the addiction science field’s interconnected infrastructure, all of it essential to building both basic and applied knowledge that improves public health.
One of the most sobering messages for me was the scale of the impact of dismantling data infrastructure. The implications are immediate and long-term. When data systems go dark, decision-makers lose their ability to govern or plan effectively. You cannot appropriate what you cannot justify, and you cannot justify what you cannot measure. Rebuilding these systems in the future will be difficult if not insurmountable.
This is not only a high-quality scientific report, backed by courageous leadership and a strong coalition, it is also an exceptional example of knowledge dissemination and engagement. The ASDN, National Prevention Science Coalition and the Drug Policy Alliance have made it easy for organisations and individuals to endorse their call for action. In particular, the audience-specific recommendation briefs are outstanding. Developed from the full report, they are tailored to different groups highlighting implications and clear actions relevant to each audience. These span a broad range of interest holders: people with lived and living experience, families, researchers and academic institutions, advocacy organisations, treatment and prevention providers, journal editors and research societies, policymakers, journalists, and the public. Each is targeted and actionable – a strong example of effective policy and advocacy communication.
To borrow directly from the report:
Despite these threats to addiction science, there are still opportunities to rebuild and recover from the damage already done. A broad coalition of policymakers, researchers, providers, journalists, and communities with lived experience can reverse course. With each sector using its positionality to advocate for addiction science, we can save lives and promote healthier, safer communities.
Do what you can do, but do something.
