Drug overdose deaths rose nearly 30 percent in 2020 to a record 93,000, according to preliminary estimates by the CDC—the largest single-year increase ever as fatalities surged for opioid, meth, and fentanyl-related deaths across the country. Deaths rose in every state but two, with pronounced increases in the South and West and among Black and Hispanic populations. The data showed that fatalities had accelerated pre-pandemic and grew even more pronounced during lockdowns, social distancing, and the closing of drug treatment facilities. The national rise in deaths—which now exceed car crashes, gun violence or the AIDS epidemic—came as fentanyl became more entrenched in the drug supply, replacing heroin and finding its way into meth. What can the Biden administration do? The Washington Post points out that the president has a number of ideas and strategies at his disposal, including expanding drug treatment, medication-assisted programs, and residential services, as well as harm reduction, boosting drug interdictions, and more education and prevention initiatives. But he may also consider some novel approaches, such as complete decriminalization of hard drugs, as Oregon has done. Treatment and access to anti-addiction medications are critical to this response; just 18 percent of people with substance use disorder receive such drugs and less than 10 percent of facilities nationwide offer residential treatment. And finally, one thing that President Biden has done is to finally nominate a new “drug czar” to head the White House Office of National Drug Policy Control to oversee and help coordinate national drug policies. Biden tapped former West Virginia Health Commissioner Dr. Rahul Gupta for the job—a good choice for his experience dealing with the opioid epidemic in his state. Gupta would be the first physician to take the post, which was created in 1982. However, Biden is not expected to reverse President Obama’s decision to demote the office from a cabinet-level position, thereby denying Gupta a more prominent platform to advocate for drug policies during a national crisis.