Opioids have been the cause of nearly 727 thousand overdose deaths in the United States. According to the CDC, about 76% of the nearly 108 thousand people who died from drug overdose in 2022 involved opioids. In fact, the number of deaths in 2022 is 10 times what it was since the late 90s.
In September, NPR reported that for the first time in decades, public health data is showing an unprecedented drop in drug overdose deaths across the United States – about 10.6% – from April of 2023 to April of 2024. And states like Ohio and Michigan — and here in Minnesota — are beginning to report statewide decreases as well. Minnesota’s drug overdose deaths actually dropped by 8% last year — its first decline since 2018.
Medications have long been a vital tool in treating illness and injury, offering relief and saving lives. What happens when these drugs, designed to heal, contribute to a crisis? How have prescription and synthetic opioids changed the drug overdose landscape? And what’s different now?
Listen here:
About the Expert:
Jon Roesler is an assistant professor and program director of Public Health Programs at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Before joining Saint Mary’s University in the summer of 2022, Jon served with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) for more than 33 years as an epidemiologist and supervisor. He also served for two years as an epidemiologist at the North Dakota Department of Health, and spent two years as a statistician at the University of Minnesota’s Division of Epidemiology.
Although most of Jon’s work has been in public health surveillance and epidemiologic investigations of injury and violence, Jon has also worked on a broad range of public health concerns, including diabetes, heart disease, oral health, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), excessive alcohol use, various infectious and vaccine-preventable diseases, and occupational health. Jon continues to consult with the Minnesota Department of Health regarding spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, FASD, and law enforcement involving fatal encounters.
Jon has a B.A. in Physiology/Psychology, an M.S. in Environmental Health, and an ABD (completed coursework and oral prelims for a Ph.D.) in Epidemiology from the University of Minnesota.
