Arkansas is enjoying a milestone in the fight against opioids. That’s because The National Center for Opioid Research and Clinical Effectiveness (NCOR) will be located in the state. As Little Rock Public Radio reports, NCOR will be a first-of-its-kind center dedicated to understanding the effects of the opioid crisis on the fetus, newborns, developing children and adolescents, As well as pregnant and parenting individuals.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin awarded the $75 million center a total of $55 million of opioid and vaping settlement funds. Officials gathered at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Research Institute (ACRI) campus this week, where the 65,000-square-foot-facility will open in 2027.
The center’s director, Alicia Allen, PhD, MPH, said they plan to work directly with communities hard hit by addiction. “When opioid and other substance misuse take hold that impact ripples outward, impacting infants and children. Indeed, parental addiction has been linked to a higher risk of developmental delays, challenges with bonding and attachments, family separation, involvement with the legal system, and lasting economic hardships.”
Arkansas continues to lead the country in its opioid prescribing rate, with 72 prescriptions for every 100 residents. Despite that fact, Dr. Allen says Arkansas overdose rates continue to fall. “Here in Arkansas, we’re seeing a 24% decrease in these deaths, which matches what we’re seeing nationally. That’s an extraordinary achievement, especially because it’s happening at the same time fentanyl, which is an extremely potent and dangerous opioid, has become more widespread.”
The overall national opioid dispensing rate declined steadily from a rate of 46.8 opioid prescriptions dispensed per 100 persons in 2019 to a rate of 37.5 opioid prescriptions dispensed per 100 persons in 2023. States with the highest opioid dispensing rates per 100 persons in 2023 include Arkansas (71.5), Alabama (71.4), Mississippi (63.1), and Louisiana (62.7).
