Opioid Response

Opioids are effective pain-relievers that can cause euphoria and lead to addiction, whether they are legally or illegally produced. During an opioid overdose, a person may stop breathing and their heart may stop beating as their central nervous system shuts down.  

• Prescription Opioids: To relieve pain, doctors may prescribe their patients opioids like oxycodone (OxyContin®), morphine, and even fentanyl for severe pain. When prescription opioids are distributed directly by legitimate medical professionals, their purity and strength as labeled can be trusted.
• Illicit Opioids: Illicit opioids include heroin and any other opioids that are produced outside of a legitimate pharmaceutical laboratory. Opioids that are made illegally are far more dangerous than prescription opioids because people using them cannot verify their purity or strength.
• Fentanyl: Synthetic opioids like fentanyl are the leading driver of the overdose epidemic. Because they are extremely powerful, just a tiny amount of fentanyl (or variations of fentanyl called analogues) can be lethal. Fentanyl is often mixed into drugs without the knowledge of the people using them. 

Learn more from the Minnesota Department of Health: Opioids and Fentanyl.

The opioid crisis is also known as the overdose crisis or the opioid epidemic. It is the worsening trend of overdose deaths across the country. 

It began in the early 1990s with the over-prescription of pain medications. Today, the overdose crisis is mostly driven by fentanyl, a very strong opioid that people often use in combination with other drugs.

Any person can be negatively impacted by opioids, but the opioid crisis is currently harming some people more than others. In Minnesota, groups like communities of color, indigenous communities, and LGBTQIA+ communities are disproportionately affected by the opioid crisis. These kinds of disparities can be caused by factors like unequal access to resources and can be worsened by systemic inequity across our society’s systems.

Words matter

The way we talk about substance use matters because stigma kills. When people think they will be judged and shamed for seeking support for a substance use disorder, they often don’t get the help they need. Your words matter, and they could save lives. Learn about the Language of Substance Use Disorder from the Minnesota Department of Health. Visit Changing the Narrative to learn how to spot myths about drug use and address them with accurate, effective, and compassionate language.

Reduce risk

Learn about strategies like naloxone and drug testing that can Reduce Overdose Risk. Anyone can pick up naloxone kits and fentanyl test trips anonymously and for free at a Naloxone Access Point.

State and county level opioid and overdose data is available from the Minnesota Department of Health.