ST. PAUL, MN – Minnesota will join with seven other states through the National Governors Association (NGA) to develop and implement strategies to expand access to opioid addiction treatment. Through this partnership, Minnesota will join with Alaska, Indiana, Kansas, North Carolina, New Jersey, Virginia, and Washington to create and apply six-month strategic plans to expand treatment access.

 

“Since 2000, deaths from opioid overdoses have increased by 430 percent in Minnesota. While the makers of these prescription painkillers are making billions in profits, Minnesotans are dying and our public health system is overwhelmed by the demands for prevention, treatment and recovery,” said Lt. Governor Tina Smith. “Minnesota is taking some important first steps, but we need to do more. This new partnership will help us learn and develop even better strategies to fight opioid addiction. But then we need to take action in Minnesota, this legislative session, to respond to the scourge of opioid addiction, and help to the hundreds of Minnesotans who need it.”

 

As part of this partnership, the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) will look for better ways to treat people incarcerated with opioid addiction. That work includes a plan to expand access to opioid treatment, and examining correctional system re-entry programs, including pre-release treatment and post-release community referrals. 

 

Nationally, deaths from opioid overdoses have increased 200 percent since 2000. In Minnesota, opioid deaths have increased 430 percent over the same period, disproportionately affecting women and Native Americans. An estimated 80 percent of Americans addicted to heroin started out taking prescription-pad medications.

 

Last fall, Gov. Mark Dayton and Lt. Governor Tina Smith partnered with Minnesota’s 11 tribal nations to convene the Tribal-State Opioid Summit, to develop strategies for prevention, treatment and recovery. The 2017 Tribal-State Opioid Summit Report recommends a number of strategies to address the issue of opioids in Minnesota, including strengthening partnerships between tribes, the state, and the federal government; supporting cultural engagement and other culturally-focused services; and improving treatment and prevention efforts throughout the state.

Opioid deaths have increased 430 percent in Minnesota since 2000. Eighty percent of Americans addicted to heroin started out taking prescription pain medications. Governor Dayton’s budget, An Opportunity Agenda for a Better Minnesota, includes funding to improve statewide tracking of overdoses in Minnesota so law enforcement and health officials can respond more quickly and effectively. It also would invest $4 million for Minnesota’s Tribal Nations and urban American Indian communities to fund prevention programs to reduce opioid addiction.