Senate Confirms New ONDCP Deputy Directors

Benjamin B. Tucker Confirmed as ONDCP Deputy Director of State, Local and Tribal Affairs; Brings 40 Years' Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Experience to Drug Policy Office

(Washington, D.C.) - On June 22 the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Benjamin B. Tucker by unanimous consent to be the new Deputy Director of State, Local and Tribal Affairs for the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). Mr. Tucker will oversee ONDCP's High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program (HIDTA), Drug-Free Communities (DFC), National Youth-Anti-Drug Media Campaign, and Counter-Drug Technology Assessment Center (CTAC).

Court Decision in Parity Lawsuit

On June 21, the US District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the lawsuit filed by the Coalition for Parity, Inc. against the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury seeking to prevent application of the interim final rules on The Wellstone-Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA).  In her decision, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly stated that the Departments were allowed to issue interim final rules (IFR) in order to expedite the rulemaking process given the short timeframe allowed by the law.  She ruled that the IFR will stand, but stated that it was also her expectation that the Departments should move swiftly to finalize the rules by responding to 4,000+ comments submitted on the IFR and complete the rulemaking process.  Read the full opinion here.

The Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology announced yesterday the release of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Applying the Substance Abuse Confidentiality Regulations to the Health Information Exchange (HIE).