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The current opioid epidemic is the largest drug use epidemic in the history of the USA for all racial and ethnic groups [1]. Fatal opioid overdose rates continue to be exceedingly high, with 2017 experiencing an 11% increase in opioid-related fatalities compared to 2016 and more than a 670% increase since the height of the heroin epidemic in 1975 [1, 2]. The rise in fatal opioid overdose since the 1970s heroin epidemic has differentially affected racial groups. In the 1970s, opioid mortality was higher among Black Americans [3, 4]. In recent years, the racial profile of opioid-related fatalities has changed and has been highest among non-Hispanic Whites, with White individuals accounting for 37,113 (78%) and Black individuals for 5513 (12%) of the 2017 opioid-related deaths [2]. These discrepant racial trends in fatal overdose can be partially attributed to the surge in prescription opioids starting in the mid-1990s …