We wrote on this page a while back that a sign of the severity of the opioid abuse problem is that this class of drugs is now a household name. That’s still the case as the cost and suffering from abuse of this type of medication continues to mount.
No group seems immune to this problem, or the potential for addiction. A reported one in three seniors on Medicare have been prescribed opioids at one point, for example. And nearly 90 Americans of all ages die of opioid overdoses daily.
We’ve noted before that solving this public health crisis is complicated, in part because of the legitimate need to provide humane, effective relief for those facing chronic, or short-term pain.
On today’s page, we present a selection of viewpoints speaking to this local and national challenge and efforts to address it. Awareness of the problem and its risks, as well as the need to coordinate efforts to fight it seem a common theme that should be recognized by all of us.
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