ST. LOUIS — A ºüÀêÊÓƵ-based group that’s already distributed tens of thousands of doses of an opioid overdose reversal drug plans to massively expand its efforts in the coming year.
The Addiction Science Team has been working for years at the University of Missouri-ºüÀêÊÓƵ to reduce opioid overdose deaths with prevention, research and programs. Now, it’s armed with an additional $6 million from state settlements with opioid manufacturers.
Last year, the group distributed 120,000 doses of the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone. This year, it plans to double, or even triple, that number.
Program leaders say prevention measures like naloxone will be key to reducing opioid-related deaths, which accounted for 72% of all Missouri drug overdose deaths in the first two quarters of 2022, according to the Missouri Institute of Mental Health at UMSL.
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In 2021, more than 1,580 Missourians died from an opioid overdose — the vast majority of which came from synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, . ºüÀêÊÓƵ city had the state’s highest mortality rate, with nearly 97 people per 100,000 dying of a drug overdose.
“(Naloxone) is not a cure-all for our country’s opioid crisis; it is not a panacea,†said Rachel Winograd, director of the Addiction Science Team. “But without sufficient naloxone, without our high-need, vulnerable communities being saturated ... then we are never going to be able to get ahead of this death crisis.â€
Winograd has been studying substance use for over a decade, and in recent years she said she has seen a marked shift in people’s acceptance of prevention measures like naloxone.
Critics initially saw the reversal drug as a fringe intervention that may have even enabled people to continue using opioids. But now, she said, educational pushes by the state and efforts to reduce stigma have led to a change in thinking.
When the team started their work in 2017, Missouri had the 17th-highest overdose death rate of any state. In 2021, it was 25th. Nationally, overdose deaths spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic from roughly 50,000 in 2019 to 68,600 in 2020, according to the .
The Addiction Science Team worked to combat that trend in Missouri by continuing to distribute naloxone, even though some other states halted similar efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now, states across the U.S. are getting help in the form of billions of dollars in settlements with manufacturers and distributors over claims they fueled the opioid crisis. Missouri is expected to receive $458 million from the settlements over 18 years.
The money has allowed the addiction science team to expand its model of finding people throughout the state who can make connections with communities. In recent weeks, they’ve opened up applications for consultants to do training and street outreach, and set up tables at events to expand their scope, said overdose program coordinator Rithvik Kondai.
They’ve also added 10 staffers in recent months, including social service workers, an EMT, a military medic and people with direct experience with substance use disorder.
Kondai said the additional staff has allowed them to distribute even more kits to trusted places all over the state, including community hubs like barber shops, liquor stores, pawn shops and law firms, he said.
“They are trusted places people come to with their issues,†he said.
The kits include other prevention materials, such as test strips that detect fentanyl in other drugs, treatment information, recovery resources and a breathing mask, which can be crucial when people stop breathing during an overdose.
In some locations, the team has distributed disposal containers for syringes to be hung in common areas. They also have plans to also distribute medical supplies to a limited number of organizations for people who are experiencing drug- or injection-related wounds.
Winograd and Kondai acknowledged there is still a lot of work to do to solve the problem. Winograd said a robust response under the leadership of the Department of Mental Health in distributing the grants will be necessary to getting a handle on the overdose crisis.
“We are just one piece of the puzzle,†she said.