HPIO Addiction Evidence Project Fact Sheet:
Insights on addiction and race
Ohio has taken many steps to prevent addiction and improve treatment access for people with substance use disorder. However, addiction remains a concern across the state, affecting people from every community and inequitably impacting Ohioans of color. Unjustly punitive and unfair policies, practices and beliefs about addiction have led to large racial and ethnic differences in addiction-related outcomes and have made it more difficult for Ohioans of color to begin and sustain recovery.
This fact sheet, released in conjunction with the HPIO policy brief Taking Action to Strengthen Ohio’s Addiction Response, provides data and information on differences in addiction outcomes by race, and the factors that drive those differences, with a focus on Black Ohioans.
The HPIO Addiction Evidence Project
The HPIO Addiction Evidence Project provides state policymakers and other stakeholders with tools to:
- Quickly find existing information about what works to address addiction
- Review addiction policy changes enacted in Ohio
- Assess the extent to which new policies align with existing standards and evidence
- Identify areas where Ohio policy can be better aligned with standards and evidence, including potential gaps in Ohio’s response to the addiction crisis
