The Opioid Crisis and the Black/African American Population: An Urgent Issue

Link: https://store.samhsa.gov/product/The-Opioid-Crisis-and-the-Black-African-American-Population-An-Urgent-Issue/PEP20-05-02-001

This issue brief presents recent data on prevalence of opioid misuse and death rates in the Black/AA population; contextual factors & challenges to prevention & treatment; innovative outreach & engagement strategies to connect people to evidence-based treatment; and the importance of community voice.

Excerpt/Introduction – The current opioid epidemic is one of the largest drug epidemics recorded in U.S. history for all racial and ethnic groups. From 1999 to 2017, there were nearly 400,000 overdose deaths involving opioids in the U.S.1 In 2018, 10.3 million people misused opioids, including prescription opioids and heroin, and two million had an opioid use disorder (OUD).2 In 2017, the opioid epidemic in the U.S. was declared a national public health emergency with 47,600 reported deaths from opioid-related overdoses, which accounted for the majority of overdose drug deaths.3 With approximately 130 people dying each day due to an opioid-related overdose,4 this epidemic has garnered nation-wide attention, generated significant federal and state funding for prevention, treatment, and recovery and shaped the priorities of many local communities.

Link: https://store.samhsa.gov/product/The-Opioid-Crisis-and-the-Black-African-American-Population-An-Urgent-Issue/PEP20-05-02-001