U.S. Senate Confirms James Carroll as Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy

On January 2, 2019, the U.S. Senate confirmed James Carroll as Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), making him the principal drug policy advisor to the President amidst the national opioid epidemic. He previously served as Acting Director of the ONDCP, a position he was appointed to by the President in February 2018 and was subsequently nominated to be the permanent director of the office in April 2018. ONDCP is responsible for coordinating the federal response to drug crises.

Mr. Carroll is an attorney who has held several positions in the Trump Administration, including serving as Deputy Chief of Staff at the White House. Prior to joining the Trump Administration, he served in President George W. Bush’s administration as Special Assistant and Associate Counsel to the President at the White House, as an attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, and as Deputy General Counsel and Acting General Counsel at the Department of the Treasury.

In 2013, ASA collaborated with ONDCP to develop an Opioid Overdose Resuscitation card, which provides easy-to-understand lifesaving techniques to help friends and family save someone suspected of an opioid overdose. When the card was released, ONDCP sent a standalone-email-update asking individuals to download the card. Since then, the card has been shared with partner organizations and government leaders, as wells as distributed by physicians and patient advocates. It is available for download on the ASA website and has also been distributed to 330,000 members of the Fraternal Order of Police.

ASA welcomes the opportunity to work with Mr. Carroll and ONDCP again.