Unintentional overdose deaths increased 173% among adults between 1999 and 2010 in the U.S. This increase has mostly been attributed to prescription opioid overdoses, and prevention of prescription drug overdoses represents a key priority area of the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Opioids have been increasingly used in pain treatment in the U.S., particularly for chronic non-cancer pain, and the parallel increases in opioid-related overdoses and opioid prescribing has led many to suggest that prescribing practices are related to opioid overdose. A primary effort to address the problem has been through state legislation and policy related to opioid prescribing or legal protections for individuals responding to an overdose. Studies have examined the impact of prescription drug monitoring programs on population overdose rates, with mixed findings. To date, there has been no comprehensive evaluation of the impact of relevant laws.
