New Fentanyl Bill Allocates $15M for Social Media Drug Sting Operations and Officer Safety Gear

The new Combatting Fentanyl Poisonings Act of 2025 is setting up three distinct federal grant programs, totaling $15 million, aimed squarely at the fentanyl crisis. Managed by the Attorney General and the Department of Health and Human Services, this bill focuses on enforcement, officer protection, and public awareness. It’s essentially a targeted cash infusion for local agencies and non-profits dealing with the fallout of fentanyl, but with some specific rules about how the money can be spent.

The Digital Beat: Funding Fentanyl Enforcement Online

One major chunk of this new funding—$10 million, to be exact—is reserved for state and local police departments to specifically tackle drug sales happening on social media platforms. Think of this as federal support for local police to run sting operations and investigations targeting dealers who use apps and websites to market and distribute controlled substances, especially fentanyl. The bill explicitly encourages funding for programs that lead to the arrest of people selling drugs online. Furthermore, this grant money can also be used to educate school staff, clinicians, and parents about the dangers of buying pills online and the risk of counterfeit substances laced with fentanyl. If you’re a parent, this means your local police or school district might soon be getting resources to warn you and your kids about how dealers are trying to reach young people in their DMs.

Keeping the First Responders Safe

Another $2 million is earmarked specifically for grants to protect law enforcement officers who are regularly exposed to fentanyl. This is a practical recognition of the danger officers face when responding to overdose calls or executing search warrants. This money will buy essential gear: fentanyl testing equipment, advanced detection tools like ion mobility spectrometers, and, crucially, naloxone (the overdose reversal drug) and training on how to use it. If you have police officers in your family or community, this provision means they should soon be better equipped to handle dangerous scenes and protect themselves from accidental exposure.

Awareness Campaigns, with a Catch

The final $3 million is designated for non-profit organizations recognized under section 501(c)(3) to run public education campaigns. These grants are meant to spread awareness about fentanyl’s dangers. Non-profits can use the money to pay for travel so parents who have lost children to fentanyl poisoning can speak at events, create educational materials like documentaries or infographics, and even offer counseling or mentorship to affected families. They can also use funds to purchase naloxone and provide training to parents and school employees.

However, there’s a significant restriction here that’s going to raise eyebrows among public health advocates: the grant money cannot generally be used to buy harm reduction supplies like drug test kits, safer smoking kits, or materials that explain safer injection practices. While naloxone is allowed, other harm reduction tools are explicitly excluded from this funding stream. For organizations that rely on these tools as part of their strategy, this means they’ll have to find separate funding to cover those costs, effectively prioritizing enforcement and awareness over certain public health measures.