Opioid epidemic

12.04.23 | In the US, opioid dispensing is decreasing, but drug overdose deaths (mainly due to opioids) continue to rise. The opioid epidemic started in the late 1990s when the drugs were increasingly prescribed for pain management. Since then, overprescribing and addiction has led to numerous deaths and large fines for opioid producers and sellers. For instance, opioid developer Purdue Pharma reached a USD 6 billion settlement with several states in the US. Much has been done to reduce the opioid epidemic, but with limited success so far. Opioid dispensing through legal channels is decreasing and deaths from prescribed opioids have stabilized, but deaths from synthetic opioids (primarily fentanyl) have increased from about 7,000 in 2015 to 70,000 in 2021. The epidemic is far from over, it seems.

Source: US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023.