How States Are Tackling the Opioid Crisis

Abstract

Objectives: We used data from the 2015 National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors Web-based questionnaire and other sources to demonstrate the range and scope of state initiatives being used to deal with the opioid crisis in the United States.

Methods: State alcohol and drug agency directors and designated senior agency managers responded to the questionnaire, which asked respondents about recent opioid-related state-level public health initiatives at their agencies.

Results: State alcohol and drug agencies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia responded, all of which reported that prescription drug misuse was a high priority or the highest priority area for their agencies. Of the 51 respondents, states reported initiatives to educate the general public (n = 48), prescribers (n = 31), patients and families (n = 24), and pharmacists (n = 22) about the risks of opioids. In addition, 29 states had increased funding for medication-assisted treatment of opioid addiction, 28 had expanded the availability of naloxone (an opioid antidote), 26 had established guidelines for safe opioid prescribing, 23 had launched requirements for prescriber use of prescription monitoring programs, 23 had passed Good Samaritan laws to protect those helping treat overdoses, and 14 had enacted legislation to regulate pain clinics.

Conclusions: US state alcohol and drug agencies demonstrated a robust response to the opioid crisis in the United States. They have pursued and expanded on an array of evidence-based initiatives aimed at the opioid crisis. Future public health efforts should focus on maintenance and further expansion of high-quality, evidence-based practices, policies, and programs.

Keywords: addiction; heroin; opioids; prescription drugs; states.