In the United States, drug overdose deaths are on the rise. In 2022, CDC researchers reported that 110,236 people died from an overdose in a single 12-month period, setting a new record. Synthetic opioid overdose deaths, primarily due to fentanyl, increased nearly 7.5-fold from 2015 to 2021. In Texas, the number of fentanyl-related deaths rose dramatically — from 883 deaths in 2020 to 1,672 deaths in 2021. While Republican lawmakers in Texas have previously opposed harm reduction policies, many have signaled a desire to take policy action to combat the crisis in the 2023 legislative session.
At this Baker Briefing, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, fellow Katharine Neill Harris, and fellow and former Harris County Judge Ed Emmett discussed policy approaches to the rise in fentanyl-related deaths. Their conversation explored strategies that have been successfully adopted in other states and what policies could receive support from Texas legislators.
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About Baker Briefing
Baker Briefing is a podcast that tackles the most critical foreign and domestic policy issues of the day in conversations with experts at the Baker Institute for Public Policy. Hosted by the Honorable David M. Satterfield, director of the Baker Institute, each episode is recorded in front of a live audience at Rice University in Houston, Texas.
Registration
This event was free and open to members of the Baker Roundtable and undergraduate students through the link in their email invitation. To attend this or future member-exclusive events, contact the Baker Institute development office at roundtable@rice.edu.
Featured Speakers
The Honorable Edward M. Emmett
Fellow in Energy and Transportation Policy, Baker Institute; Former Harris County Judge
The Honorable Ed Gonzalez
Sheriff, Harris County
Katharine Neill Harris, Ph.D.
Alfred C. Glassell, III, Fellow in Drug Policy, Baker Institute
The Honorable Kim Ogg
District Attorney, Harris County
The Honorable David M. Satterfield
Director, Baker Institute and Edward P. Djerejian Center for the Middle East; Janice and Robert McNair Chair in Public Policy
