It appears that increased awareness of the dangers of opioid misuse has made a difference in Alabama. The Medical Association of the State of Alabama was one of the first medical associations in the country to offer a continuing education course to train physicians on safely and effectively prescribing opioids. Since 2009, more than 8,000 prescribers in Alabama have completed the course.

Opioid prescriptions in Alabama have decreased 41.6 percent from 2012 to 2021. From 2020 to 2021, opioid prescriptions in the state declined 1.6 percent, marking the eighth consecutive year the number of opioid prescriptions in Alabama has dropped. Likewise, the dosage strength of opioid prescriptions fell 52.7 percent from 2012 to 2021 and dropped 6.5 percent between 2020 to 2021. And prescriptions of naloxone to treat patients at risk of an opioid overdose rose 851 percent between 2012 to 2021 and 35.4 percent from 2020 to 2021.