"Substance abuse" has been specifically written into a bill reforming the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), potentially giving addiction treatment and prevention programs more standing as funds are distributed to address the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and other disasters.

The National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD) reports that the U.S. Senate recently marked up S-3721, amending the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief Emergency Assistance Act to include substance abuse in the funding authorization. The program's mandate is to help disaster victims to understand that "emotional reactions to a disaster are normal and to help them develop appropriate coping skills so that they can resume their pre-disaster level of functioning."

The current language of the act only refers to mental-health disorders, but the amendment makes clear that the law also applies to substance-abuse disorders. According to NASADAD, the new language reads (CAPS added): "The President is authorized to provide professional counseling AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE services, including financial assistance to State or local agencies or private mental health organizations to provide such services or training of disaster workers, to victims of major disasters in order to relieve OR PREVENT mental health OR SUBSTANCE ABUSE problems OR IDENTIFIED MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS OR DISORDERS caused or aggravated by such major disaster or its aftermath."

The legislation also calls for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to work with state and local officials to survey support services so that states can develop a "strategy for the adequate provision of mental health and substance abuse services available to individuals affected by major disasters and to emergency response providers responding to major disasters."