Opioid Epidemic
Ramifications of prescription opiates to the public
a) Despite opioid related deaths decreasing in certain states, the total deaths still have increased
nationally.
b) “researchers projected that if prescription opioid misuse rates remain unchanged from 2015
onward, an estimated 700,400 people will die from opioid overdose. Eighty percent of those
deaths would be attributed to illicit opioids such as heroin or fentanyl.”
c) Creating an addict out of someone who normally isn’t susceptible to abusing drugs.