Résumé
In 2014, deaths caused by opioids—including prescription drugs, heroin, and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl—reached record-breaking levels in the United States.3 With an estimated 78 Americans dying from opioid overdoses each day,4 opioid abuse has emerged as a public health crisis that crosses geographic, racial, gender, and socioeconomic boundaries. In many places, the opioid epidemic has contributed to a shift in how law enforcement agencies fight opioid abuse in their communities. Historically, many of the law enforcement efforts to curb opioid abuse have focused on using enforcement actions (including arrests and incarceration) to target drug use and distribution. However, as opioid-related deaths continue to rise and as more is understood about the nature of opioid addiction, many law enforcement officials are realizing that a more comprehensive approach is needed. This publication documents the discussions that occurred at the April 27 meeting as well as information gathered from individual interviews of forum participants. Each chapter includes an in-depth description of an innovative program that features collaboration between the public health and public safety sectors. The goal of this publication is to highlight these promising models and to provide guidance to other jurisdictions on how to develop and implement their own programs.