U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, Congressmen Steny Hoyer, Elijah Cummings, C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Anthony Brown, John Delaney and Jamie Raskin (all D-Md.) announced that the Maryland State Police will receive a grant of $2,544,800 through the Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) to support law enforcement agencies in combating the illegal manufacturing and distribution of methamphetamine, heroin and prescription opioids.
The funds come from the Anti-Heroin Task Force Program (AHTFP), a competitive grant program that provides two years of funding directly to law enforcement agencies in states with high per capita levels of primary treatment admissions for heroin and other opioids.
Maryland was one of 17 states awarded funding. According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), the grants will support the location or investigation of illicit activities related to the distribution of heroin or the unlawful distribution of prescription opioids. AHTFP grants are managed and dispersed through COPS, the component of the DOJ responsible for advancing the practice of community policing through information sharing and financial assistance.
Recently, President Trump signed into law H.R. 6, the Substance Use Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act (also known as the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act). The legislation reauthorized a number of key law enforcement programs important to Maryland through the Office of National Drug Control Policy, such as the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, drug courts, the COPS Anti-Meth Program and the COPS Anti-Heroin Task Force Program.