- > 1.5x the number of homicides
- ~ 2x the number of fatal motor vehicle accidents
- 30% more than the number of all gun-related deaths (including homicides, suicides, and accidental shootings)
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Prescription Opioids and Heroin
What are opioids? Opioids are a class of drugs that includes heroin, prescription pain relievers such as oxycodone and hydrocodone (i.e., Oxycontin® , Percocet® , Vicodin®), and dangerous synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, carfentanil, and other analogues. Opioids work in the brain to reduce pain and can also produce feelings of relaxation and euphoria.
Prescription opioids are important pain medications that can provide relief for acute or chronic pain. Unfortunately, they can also be prescribed inappropriately and misused. Misuse of prescription opioids increases the risk of developing opioid use disorder (OUD) and may lead to overdose.
Opioids are addictive. Taking opioids at high doses for extended periods of time increases the risk of developing OUD . Characteristics of OUD include developing physical tolerance, as early as two days following continuous use, (i.e., a need for increasingly higher doses accompanied by a marked decrease in effect), being unable to stop using opioids consistently, and experiencing painful physical withdrawal symptoms when abruptly stopping use.
Opioids are deadly. High doses can cause people to stop breathing and die. Nationally, the number of deaths involving opioids, has quadrupled since 1999, and drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death in the United States for people under the age of 50.
In 2016, opioid overdoses killed 1,946 people in Illinois, an 82% increase compared to 2013.
Much of the alarming increase in opioid overdose deaths in recent years can be attributed to the rise of dangerous synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. Synthetic opioids are fast acting and can be hundreds to thousands of times more toxic than heroin. Heroin and other street drugs are often mixed with fentanyl to increase their effects, which can quickly become a lethal combination. Between 2013 and 2016, overdose deaths in Illinois attributable to synthetic opioids increased tenfold.
Resources
For Providers and Community Organizations
- Safe Opioid Prescribing Curriculum for Nurses and Nurse Practitioners
- CDC Opioid Overdose Prevention
- CDC Opioid Overdose Information
- CDC Guidelines for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Buprenorphine Waiver Management
- DHS Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse (DASA)
- Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program
- DHS Drug Overdose Prevention Program
- NASTAD Toolkit – Role of Public Health Programs in Drug User Health
- Network for Public Health LA Fact Sheet – Drug Overdose Prevention
- Partnership for Drug Free Kids Search and Rescue Campaign
- Substance Abuse and Sexual Minority Youth Infographic
For Patients and Caregivers
- Opioid Use Treatment Resources for Pregnant Women with Medicaid in Illinois
- CDC Prescription Opioids: What You Need to Know
- What are Opioids?
- CDC Safer, More Effective Pain Management
- PEERx Interactive Project for Teens on Prescription Drugs
- Just Think Twice
- CDC Syringe Safety Programs
- CDC HIV Syringe Exchange Services
- North American Syringe Exchange IL Programs
- FDA – What to Ask Your Doctor Before Taking Opioids
Laws & Rules
- Alcoholism and Other Drug Abuse Dependency Act (Illinois Public Act 096-0361 (20 ILCS 301/5-23))
- Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016
- Illinois Drug Overdose Prevention Program Law (PA 096-0361, 2010)
- Emergency Medical Services Access Law (PA 097-0678, 2012, i.e., Good Samaritan Law)
- Heroin Crisis Act (PA 099-0480, 2015)
- Public Act 100-0564 (2017)
Publications
- Opioid Overdoses and the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Opioid Overdose Semiannual Report - August 2021
- Illinois Opioid Data Report
- Recognizing an Overdose Infographic
- 2017 Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Advisory Committee Annual Report
- Data Snapshot: Drug Poisoning and Opioid-Related Deaths among Illinois Women
- Opioid Overdose Semiannual Report - September 2020
- Opioid Overdose Semiannual Report - September 2019
- Opioid Overdose Semiannual Report - December 2018
- Opioid Overdose Semiannual Report - June 2018
- Opioid Overdose Semiannual Report - December 2017
- Opioid Overdose Semiannual Report - June 2017
- Illinois Opioid Action Plan
- IDPH and CDC Cooperative Agreement for Emergency Response: Public Health Crisis Response
- OPPS Overdose report
- Surgeon General #TurnTheTide Letter
- NASTAD Statement of Urgency: Addressing the Opioid Epidemic
- Free Opioid Educational Video for Your GME or Dental Programs
- Executive Order Granting the Governor's Opioid Prevention and Intervention Task Force
- Fact Sheet: Women and Opioids in Illinois