Support Addiction Prevention in Oregon

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Support Addiction Prevention in Oregon - House Bill 2954

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Esteemed Legislators,

I write to express my strong support for HB 2954 to fund addiction prevention in every community in Oregon.

Alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs kill more than 12,000 Oregonians each year. Yet, Oregon spends only 6% of its substance use budget on prevention, most of which is earmarked only for tobacco through Ballot Measure 108. That means public health has no dedicated state funding to prevent alcohol and drug abuse.

The federal government has historically provided  $5 million per year for prevention, money that is divided between 36 counties, nine tribes, and nine community organizations. In most counties, this is not enough to hire one full-time prevention specialist.

The substance use crisis takes an emotional toll on people who use drugs, their families and their loved ones. It takes a financial toll on all of us, with an estimated societal and economic cost of $6 billion per year. We cannot afford to continue on this destructive path – we need a path paved with primary prevention.

That’s why I’m asking you to support HB 2954, which will allocate $25 million per biennium so all counties and tribes can hire at least one staff person dedicated to preventing drug and alcohol use.

Thank you for your support.

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House Bill 2954

Budget Request: $25 Million

Chief sponsor Representative Thuy Tran

Co-sponsor Representative Travis Nelson

Oregon spends 94% of its substance use dollars on recovery and treatment and only 6% on prevention, most of which is earmarked for tobacco prevention. This bill will allocate $25 million per biennium so counties and tribes can hire at least one staff person dedicated to preventing drug and alcohol misuse. Right now, there are very few evidence-based prevention programs in the state and those that do exist do not have dedicated, dependable funding. This bill will also help counties sustain or expand these successful programs.

More Information:

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Full Text HB 2954

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See More '25 Public Health Priorities

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Fact Sheet - Addiction Prevention

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Sun Mar 16 2025

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Priority 2