They've tracked Americans' drug use for decades. Trump and RFK Jr. fired them
(NPR) A federal study on mental health problems and substance use across the country that has been running for decades and is used by a wide range of researchers faces an uncertain future after President Trump's cuts to the federal workforce.
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health is an annual survey of households conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, which is being dissolved in Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s overhaul of the nation's health agencies.
"We survey about 70,000 people, 12 and older each year," says Jennifer Hoenig, who used to lead the team of scientists in charge of the survey, which is the largest in the country
On April 1, Hoenig and her 16-person team of mostly statisticians lost their jobs to the layoffs orchestrated by Elon Musk's DOGE effort to shrink the federal government. The Department of Health and Human Services fired 10,000 staff, while another 10,000 employees took buyouts and early retirement offers.
https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/05/29/nx-s1-5407849/samhsa-nsduh-trump-rfk-jr-hhs-cuts