§247d–10 — Title 42 The Public Health and Welfare | U.S. Code

Summary

The Health and Human Services Secretary must give grants or make agreements with federal, state, and local agencies so public health labs and law enforcement labs (like Customs and Border Protection and the Drug Enforcement Administration) can work together to better detect synthetic opioids, including fentanyl and its analogues. The Secretary must work with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Attorney General, and the DEA to create or find recommended methods for safely handling and testing these drugs, standard reference samples and quality checks to improve clinical tests, death investigations, and portable field tests, and steps to spot new drug versions and report them to the right agencies. Agencies that get money must follow those methods, have lab ability to test drugs and biological samples, share public health data, cooperate with law enforcement and health officials when possible, give early warnings about supply trends, track non-fatal exposure trends, and offer diagnostic testing for exposed emergency workers when practical. Up to $15,000,000 is authorized for each fiscal year 2019 through 2023.

Title 42, §247d–10

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to in this section as the “Secretary”) shall award grants to, or enter into cooperative agreements with, Federal, State, and local agencies to improve coordination between public health laboratories and laboratories operated by law enforcement agencies, such as Customs and Border Protection and the Drug Enforcement Administration, to improve detection of synthetic opioids, including fentanyl and its analogues, as described in subsection (b).

(b)The Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Attorney General of the United States, and the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, shall, for purposes of this section, develop or identify—

(1)best practices for safely handling and testing synthetic opioids, including fentanyl and its analogues, including with respect to reference materials, instrument calibration, and quality control protocols;

(2)reference materials and quality control standards related to synthetic opioids, including fentanyl and its analogues, to enhance—

(A)clinical diagnostics;

(B)postmortem data collection; and

(C)portable testing equipment utilized by law enforcement and public health officials; and

(3)procedures for the identification of new and emerging synthetic opioid formulations and procedures for reporting those findings to appropriate law enforcement agencies and Federal, State, and local public health laboratories and health departments, as appropriate.

(c)The Secretary shall require recipients of grants or cooperative agreements under subsection (a) to—

(1)follow the best practices established under subsection (b) and have the appropriate capabilities to provide laboratory testing of controlled substances, such as synthetic fentanyl, and biospecimens for the purposes of aggregating and reporting public health information to Federal, State, and local public health officials, laboratories, and other entities the Secretary deems appropriate;

(2)work with law enforcement agencies and public health authorities, as practicable;

(3)provide early warning information to Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies and public health authorities regarding trends or other data related to the supply of synthetic opioids, including fentanyl and its analogues;

(4)provide biosurveillance capabilities with respect to identifying trends in adverse health outcomes associated with non-fatal exposures; and

(5)provide diagnostic testing, as appropriate and practicable, for non-fatal exposures of emergency personnel, first responders, and other individuals.

(d)To carry out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was enacted as part of 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, and not as part of the Public Health Service Act which comprises this chapter.

§247d–10 Pilot program for public health laboratories to detect fentanyl and other synthetic opioids

Summary

Title 42, §247d–10

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Citations & Metadata