OPIOID EPIDEMIC IN AMERICA

There is an opioid epidemic in the US which has contributed to the deaths of Americans.  Approximately 1.5% of Americans have died from opioid overdoses which is more than the 1% of Americans who died in the Vietnam War.  In the late 1990’s pharmaceutical companies assured medical institutions that opioids would not become addictive.  So, with this information the medical providers started to prescribe this medication in greater rates.  Which led to the misuse of this medication in greater numbers of patients becoming addicted and then ending up dying from overdose. The US Department of Health and Human Services is focusing on ways to combat this epidemic.  They want to improve access to treatment, promote the use of overdose-reversing drugs, help people to understand the epidemic, provide support for research on pain and addiction, and providing better understanding of ways to manage pain.