Nationwide, opioids have continued to take countless lives, with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reporting that opioids caused 78% of all drug overdose-related deaths in 2020 alone.
In Minnesota, state lawmakers are working to ensure that no more lives are taken by passing the Opioid Response Bill that will direct $300 million in lawsuit settlement funds to those in need.
State Rep. Dave Baker (R-Willmar) joined guest host Tom Hauser on News Talk 830 WCCO to discuss why it’s a bit more personal for him.
Baker shared that his son suffered from an opioid addiction, which ended up taking his life at only 25. Because of this, Baker shared it fueled his desire to help create bipartisan legislation that will look to help other Minnesotans struggling with addiction.
For Baker’s son, his addiction began innocently, being prescribed the drugs to help with a back ailment, but Baker shared this is far too common.
“Back in the day, the medical community was really being told to fuel more pills to take care of the pain, to manage pain better, and boy have we learned so much about how that was such a wrong move,” Baker said.
Since then, Baker says that our doctors and medical experts have worked to change the direction of medicine from where it was going, especially with opioids still being necessary for medical use.
Baker spoke about another bill passed in 2019 that looked to charge pharmaceutical companies money when they sold products in the state, being one of the first in the nation to do so. That money was then used to help those fighting addictions.
Now, Baker is calling this bill the “2.0” version of the last one, as it will partner with local counties, for-profits, non-profits, and anyone working to help those fighting addictions by funding them directly with more than $300 million from a lawsuit settlement.
“This bill is sort of an extension of what we did a couple of years ago, and I’m really proud of the bipartisan work again,” Baker said.
Governor Tim Walz signed the bill into law today, and now funding will be sent out to help continue the fight to end the opioid crisis.
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