Ohio AG to fund projects to combat opioid addiction

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is using $1.6 million in settlement funds from various lawsuits to underwrite a pair or projects to address Ohio’s addiction crisis, which only last year began to show signs of easing  (Source: “Attorney General Dave Yost seeks DNA markers underlying opioid addiction,” Columbus Dispatch, Oct. 3, 2019).

One study aims to find a genetic marker that could make people more prone to opioid addiction. The study will seek DNA cheek-swab samples from up to 1,500 emergency room patient volunteers at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Patients confidentially will be asked about factors associated with addiction and their use of opioids, with DNA testing to look for 180 genetic markers suspected of association with opioid addiction.

Yost also announced the creation of a task force of medical, pharmacy and other health experts to identify and develop new addiction prevention techniques.