Issue Overview
Use the following sources to gain a better understanding of the various issues surrounding the opioid crisis. These sources summarize the issues, linking you to selected commentary, news, articles, video and audio content
Link here to Opposing Viewpoints Opioid Crisis content.
The CQ Researcher is another source of current insight into the policy issue. A recent report on the Opioid Addiction provides a Chronology as well as an excellent bibliography of sources (with links) for further review.
Nonprofit and Government Agency Policy Reports on the Opioid Epidemic
Policy reports provide research, analysis and recommendations. These documents are produced by academic research centers, think tanks and government agencies. Following are a few examples. Use the Resources in this section to find additional reports and organizations.
Statewide Response
- Opioids: Preventing and Addressing Prescription Drug Abuse
Report by the Minnesota Attorney General. Provides background and context for both Minnesota and nationally. - Minnesota Drug Overdose & Substance Use Pilot Surveillance System
Review the full report, Drug Overdose Deaths among Minnesota Residents, 2000-2016
National Response
The PolicyMap resource provides visualizations of many aspects of available opioid data. Here we see opioid use hospitalizations in 2017. You can also change year and variable to revise the map.
- Opioid Overdose Deaths by Type (States)
Kaiser Family Foundation is a recognized source for health policy information. - RAND-USC Schaeffer Opioid Policy Tools & Information Center
The site is a national resource, fostering innovative research in opioid policy science, and developing and disseminating methods, tools, and information to the research community, policymakers, and other stakeholders. - GAO Report: MEDICAID Opioid Use Disorder Services for Pregnant and Postpartum Women, and Children
Report describing Medicaid coverage of opioid use disorder services for pregnant and postpartum women and children in selected States, and children delivered via telemedicine in schools across all States, and reviewing utilization of these services. - Buprenorphine and the Opioid Crisis: A Primer for Congress
Congressional actions taken in
recent years to address the opioid crisis have included attempts to increase access to
buprenorphine. This report addresses questions policymakers may have about the effectiveness of buprenorphine,
the demand for buprenorphine, and access to buprenorphine.
Use the following databases to locate additional policy and governmental analysis of the issues.
PolicyMap Database (create visualizations of data)
Congressional Research Service Reports (part of Proquest Congressional database)
State and Federal Legislation / Regulation
State and federal legislation are important to review as policy and programmatic shifts (including funding) often shift as a result. These can be good sources to locate best practices or model policies as well, particularly at the state level.
Federal Response
- The Opioid Epidemic: Supply Control and Criminal Justice Policy—Frequently Asked Questions
CRS reports provide an excellent summary / review of policy issues. They are a good starting point.
Want to know more about how the Minnesota Congressional Delegation is approaching the opioid epidemic? This image from Voxgov shows you recent legislative and social media activity for each member. 
State Response
- Opioid Regulation in Minnesota
This publication provides an overview of the state laws governing the prescribing, dispensing, and
disposal of opioids and opioid antagonists. Prepared by the Minnesota House Research Department. - MN House of Representatives HearingReview key provisions of this most recently passed legislation.
- Looking to compare states for best practice recommendations?This database of state opioid legislative activity can help identify legislative responses across the states.
Use the following databases to locate additional sources of state and federal legislative information.
Proquest Congressional Database (for federal legislation as well as Congressional Research reports)
National Conference of State Legislatures (see specifically, the Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Treatment Database and the Injury Prevention Legislation Database | Opioid Abuse Prevention to locate state law and policy direction.
PAIS - political science and public policy resources
Research articles
These sample research review articles provide general context for both state and federal policy. Search the databases below for additional materials.
- Current Perspectives on the opioid crisis in the US healthcare system: A comprehensive literature review.Publication Date: 2019This integrative review seeks to summarize the current literature related with responsible parties of this opioid abuse crisis and discuss potential associations between demographics (ethnicity, culture, gender, religion) and opioid accessibility, abuse and overdose.
- Prescription Opioid and Heroin Crisis: A Public Health Approach to an Epidemic of AddictionPublication Date: 2015This highly cited paper is from the Annual Review of Public Health.
- Medical Marketing in the United States, 1997-2016Journal Of The American Medical Association, 2019 Jan 1, Vol.321(1), pp.80-96
Objective: To review the marketing of prescription drugs, disease awareness campaigns, health services, and laboratory tests and the related consequences and regulation in the United States over a 20-year period (1997-2016). - The Association of State Opioid Misuse Prevention Policies With Patient- and Provider-Related Outcomes: A Scoping ReviewPublication Date: 2019
This scoping review reveals a growing literature on the effects of certain state opioid misuse prevention policies, but persistent gaps in evidence on other prevalent state policies remain. Policymakers interested in reducing the volume and dosage of opioids prescribed and dispensed can consider adopting robust prescription drug monitoring programs with mandatory access provisions and drug supply management policies, such as prior authorization policies for high-risk prescription opioids. - What we know, and don't know, about the impact of state policy and systems-level interventions on prescription drug overdoseHighly Cited Article - Date Published: 2014
Authors review the impact of state policy and systems interventions on prescription drug overdose.
Use the following databases to locate more articles addressing the opioid epidemic.
PubMed - medical and public health research articles.
Web of Science - multi disciplinary - science, economics, political science research articles
World Wide Political Science - academic articles and research
Sociological literature to review academic articles regarding societal aspects
State and National News
Here are a few sample news articles. Search the databases below for additional news from Minnesota sources and beyond.
- Family doctors in rural America tackle crisis of addiction and painPublication Date: January 14, 2020This article describes the impact of opioid crisis on rural America.
- Area EMS workers talk to lawmakers about severe shortage in fieldPublication Date: January 13, 2020From the Faribault Daily News (MN).
- Opioid prescriptions down sharply in statePublication Date: January 4, 2020A recent article from the Star Tribune.
Use the following news sources to locate more articles addressing the opioid epidemic.
Access World News (be sure to check the section specific to Minnesota news sources)