Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

2017 Opioid Summit

Opioid Epidemic

How have opioids affected you or your community?

The Attorney General's Office is collecting information about the impact of opioids on Washington State.  If you have information about how opioids have affected you or your community, please consider sharing that the AGO here. 

Additional information is also available here.

In 2015, 718 Washingtonians died from opioid overdose, more than from car accidents. The majority of drug overdose deaths — more than six out of ten — involve an opioid. Nationwide, 1 in 4 people who receive prescription opioids for chronic pain in primary care settings struggle with addiction.

To identify next steps and solutions to the opioid epidemic, the Attorney General’s Office, in partnership with the Washington State Patrol and the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, convened law enforcement, public health experts, prosecutors and medical professionals on June 15 and 16, 2017 at the University of Washington.  Multiple sessions shared local innovations and best practices from around the country, from drug monitoring to health care fraud field operations. Materials from the Summit are available below.

The Summit resulted from Governor Inslee’s executive order requesting that the AGO, along with law enforcement and community partners, develop and recommend strategies to reduce the supply of illegal opioids in Washington state.

 

Publications:

 

Report: Reducing the Supply of Illegal Opioids in Washington State (PDF)

 

Opioid Report Cover Image

Summit on Reducing the Supply of Illegal Opioids in Washington

University of Washington, Seattle

June 15-16, 2017

Welcome and Introductory Remarks

Dealing with Addiction (PDF)

  • General Barry McCaffrey (Ret.), Former Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy  

Overview of the Opioid Epidemic: Dying to Ease the Pain (PDF)

  • Dr. Stephen Anderson, MD, Emergency Medicine Physician, MultiCare Auburn Medical Center and National Board of Directors, American College of Emergency Physicians

Overview of Drug Trends in the Northwest

  • Ricardo Quintero, Diversion Program Manager, Seattle Field Division, Drug Enforcement Administration

Latest information about fentanyl deaths in four Washington counties provided by Dr. Caleb Banta-Green, University of Washington Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute (PDF)

Ricardo Quintero of the DEA presents at the Opioid Summit.

Local Community on the Front Lines: Snohomish County

Moderated by: Sheriff Ty Trenary, Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office

  • Commander Pat Slack, Snohomish Regional Drug and Gang Task Force
  • Hil Kaman, Public Health and Safety Director, City of Everett

Public Health and Medical Community Perspectives

Moderated by: Dr. Kathy Lofy, MD, State Health Officer, Washington State Department of Health

Dr. Amy Cook participates in a panel discussion at the Opioid Summit.

State on the Forefront: New Jersey’s Drug Monitoring Initiative

  • Captain Juan Colon, New Jersey State Police, Office of Drug Addiction Control, New Jersey Attorney General’s Office

DMI Starter Kit:

Concept of Operations (PDF)
Identifying and Collecting Relevant Data (PDF)
Narcan Deployment Reporting Form (PDF)
Law Enforcement Directive (PDF)

New Jersey State Police Captain Juan Colon presents at the Opioid Summit.

Toward a Real-Time Drug Overdose Monitoring  System in Washington (PDF)

  • Dr. Richard Harruff, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Examiner, King County Medical Examiner’s Office
  • Dr. Julia Hood, PhD, MPH, Epidemiologist, Public Health  Seattle & King County

Field Operations: Investigating Overdose Cases (PDF)

  • Sirena Wissler, Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Missouri

Washington’s Prescription Monitoring Program & Tracking Network (PDF)

  • Chris Baumgartner, Drug Systems Director, Washington State Department of Health

Field Operations: Health Care Fraud & Diversion (PDF)

Moderated by: Larissa Payne, Deputy Director, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Office of the Washington State Attorney General

  • Richard La Monica, Chief, Investigations and Intelligence Section, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Office of the Washington State Attorney General
  • Kyle Mitchum, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

The Changing Role of a Prosecutor’s Office in Responding to the Opioid Epidemic

  • Dan Satterberg, King County Prosecuting Attorney

King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg presents at the Opioid Summit. Photo: Juliana Roe, WSAC

Curbing Demand through Public Education and Outreach

Moderated by: Dr. Steven Freng, PsyD, MSW, Prevention and Treatment Manager, Northwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area

Legislative Action: Opportunities and Challenges

Moderated by: Kate Kelly, Policy Director, Office of the Washington Attorney General

Medicine Take-Back: Current Efforts and Next Steps for a Sustainable System

Moderated by: Erin James, Outreach Marijuana & Opiate Prevention Coordinator, King County Behavioral Health and Recovery Division

Saving Lives: Naloxone Policy and Practice

Moderated by: Susan Kingston, University of Washington Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute, Center for Opioid Safety Education