Sec. 4. Opioid crisis response

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The Director shall designate opioids and opioid analogues as emerging threats, in accordance with section 1009 of title 31, United States Code, as added by section 2(b). Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall publish, make publicly available, and notify the President and the appropriate congressional committees of, the plan required under section 1009 of title 31, United States Code, as added by section 2(b), to be designated as the National Opioid Crisis Response Plan .

The Director shall ensure the plan establishes measurable goals, including reducing fatal and non-fatal overdoses, and includes the following: Initiatives to ensure the United States mail is effectively screened to prevent illicit drugs from entering the United States, including— designating the United States Postal Service as a National Drug Control Program Agency; directing the United States Postal Service and any other related National Drug Control Program Agency to take any appropriate actions necessary to reduce the amount of illicit drugs entering the country; and developing an international coordination plan, in accordance with section 1010 of such title 31, United States Code, as added by section 2(b)), to include efforts to address international drug control initiatives and strengthen bilateral and multilateral strategies to reduce illicit drugs and precursor chemicals from entering the United States through international mail or across land borders or ports of entry.

Support for universal adoption of evidence-based prescribing guidelines, including— establishing a task force to supplement existing prescribing guidelines with evidence-based standards and to facilitate, coordinate, and, as appropriate, conduct research to inform such guidelines; encouraging the adoption of evidence-based prescribing guidelines by each relevant agency, State and local governments, and private sector organizations; issuing guidance to National Drug Control Program Agencies to, as appropriate, revise regulations to ensure professionals have effective continuing education requirements; and disseminating and encouraging the adoption of best practices and evidence-based guidelines for effective prescribing practices.

A program to monitor the prescription drug market and illicit drug market for changes in trends relevant to reducing the supply or demand of such drugs. An initiative to facilitate and coordinate Federal, State and local government initiatives, studies, and pilot or demonstration programs designed to evaluate the benefits of drug courts and related programs that reduce substance use prevalence. Programs, developed in coordination with the private sector, to— facilitate the development of treatment and deterrent products, in accordance with section 1010(c) of title 31, United States Code, as added by section 2(b); and encourage the expansion of medication disposal programs and technology.

Initiatives to encourage the National Drug Control Program Agencies and the program established under section 1010(d) of title 31, United States Code, as added by section 2(b)— to prioritize the development of sentencing standards or model codes for trafficking opioids and opioid analogues; and to advise States on establishing laws and policies to address opioid issues based on the recommendations developed and set forth by the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis.

Working groups, established in accordance with section 1010 of title 31, United States Code, as added by section 2(b), to develop standards, and encourage the use of such standards, for the collection of data necessary to understand and monitor the opioid crisis, including— State medical examiner reports on deaths caused by overdoses and related statistical data; and first responder opioid intoxication incidents. A program to identify successful college recovery programs, including sober housing programs that provide a shared living residence free of alcohol or illicit drug use for individuals recovering from drug or alcohol addiction and substance use disorders, on college campuses and disseminate best practices to Colleges and Universities to increase the number and capacity of such programs.

Convening working groups, consisting of the appropriate National Drug Control Program Agencies, State, local and Tribal governments, and other appropriate stakeholders, established in accordance with section 1010 of title 31, United States Code— to support Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs by— facilitating the sharing of program data among States and Federal prescription drug monitoring programs to ensure interoperability of such programs; assisting States in increasing utilization of such programs; facilitating efforts to incorporate available overdose and naloxone deployment data into such programs; evaluating barriers to integrating program data with electronic health records; and offering recommendations to address identified barriers; and to develop standards, and encourage the use of such standards, for the collection of data necessary to understand and monitor the opioid crisis, including— State medical examiner reports on deaths caused by overdoses and related statistical data; and first responder opioid intoxication incidents.

Research initiatives, to be initiated not later than 30 days after the issuance of the plan, to evaluate the uses and barriers to use of and the effects of improving the following programs: Medication Assisted Treatment. Data collection systems used to confirm opioid use by individuals who have been arrested or hospitalized. Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit to Congress a report on the results of the initiatives conducted under subsection (b)(2)(K) and recommendations based on such results.