Harnessing Innovation in the Opioid Fight

Wednesday, February 06th, 2019
There is perhaps no issue more pressing for local governments than the opioid epidemic. In 2017, of the 70,237 drug-overdose deaths in the United States, 67.8 percent involved an opioid. While municipal leaders have devoted significant resources to combating the epidemic, they are too often drawn into a costly game of  "Whac-A-Mole." Nowhere has that frustration been felt more keenly than in New York City. Staten Island, once the epicenter of the opioid epidemic in the state, saw overdose deaths fall by 15 percent in 2017, while the Bronx experienced a 12 percent increase. It was therefore completely rational for Mayor Bill de Blasio to announce, a plan to implement in the Bronx the same approaches attributed to Staten Island's success. Then, several weeks later, preliminary data for 2018 indicated that overdose deaths on Staten Island had likely increased. Follow this link to read more. Sourced from: Governing.