How the Energy Department Helps Fight the Opioid Crisis

Today, President Trump spoke about America's opioid crisis at the Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit in Atlanta. The Department of Energy (DOE), through its work at the National Laboratories and its partnership with other federal agencies, is providing a range of advanced scientific and technological tools to combat the opioid epidemic. 

• To stem the tide of opioids that are smuggled in to the United States, DOE’s labs are developing portable, non-intrusive and highly effective detection technologies to screen incoming cargo, baggage and parcels for illicit drugs quickly and accurately. 
• Armed with the world’s fastest supercomputers, DOE’s artificial intelligence (A.I.) capabilities are playing an important role in opioid abuse prevention efforts as well. We are working to identify genetic factors that could determine a person’s predisposition to opioid addiction, as well as developing less addictive pain medications and drugs that can reduce opioid relapses and overdose deaths.

For more information on how the Department of Energy is helping fight the opioid epidemic, please visit energy.gov or contact the Office of Public Affairs at (202)586-4940.