A recent national survey by Weill Cornell Medicine found that nearly 88% of U.S. adults consider opioid overdose deaths a very serious issue, with similar concern across political affiliations. Despite this consensus on the seriousness of the problem, the survey revealed significant differences in opinions about who should be held responsible for addressing the crisis.
The study, published January 16 in JAMA Network Open, was led by Dr. McGinty and senior author Dr. Colleen L. Barry, inaugural dean of the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy and co-director of the Cornell Health Policy Center. Researchers surveyed 1,552 adults in 2025 to understand their views on opioid overdose deaths and how these perspectives differ based on political ideology. The sample was designed to reflect the demographics of Black and non-Hispanic white adults nationally.
The research comes as data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a nearly 27% decrease in opioid overdose deaths—from 83,140 in 2023 to 54,743 in 2024.
Historically, Americans have tended to place responsibility for opioid overdoses on individuals who use opioids themselves, with conservatives particularly emphasizing personal accountability for addiction. However, the new findings indicate a shift: people across all political groups are increasingly holding pharmaceutical companies responsible alongside individuals.
More conservatives and moderates believe that people who use opioids should take responsibility for reducing overdose deaths. Liberals are more likely to think pharmaceutical companies should bear liability for addressing these fatalities. "Measures such as lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies and investing settlement funds into programs that address addiction and overdose may gain more traction," said Dr. McGinty.
Stigma around addiction remains strong among survey respondents; about 38% said they would not want someone with opioid addiction as a neighbor, while 58% were unwilling to have such an individual marry into their family. This desire for social distance was higher among conservatives than among moderates or liberals.
Research has shown that stigma can be a barrier to evidence-based prevention and treatment policies—such as increasing access to treatment services, supporting harm-reduction initiatives, and moving away from punitive responses.
"The findings suggest that addressing the overdose crisis should remain on the policy agenda, but different views across political ideologies on responsibility and stigma may underlie preferences for future actions to curb overdose," said Dr. McGinty, who is also Livingston Farrand Professor of Population Health Sciences at Weill Cornell.
Dr. McGinty’s team is now studying public support for state laws requiring substance use treatment programs to provide medications for treating opioid use disorder as part of licensing requirements—a shift from traditional abstinence-only approaches toward methods proven most effective at preventing overdoses.
This research received support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (grant #797554).
