Drug Abuse

Can overdose deaths be reduced?

Abstract

Musician Prince’s death in April from an overdose of fentanyl is reinforcing the idea that no area of society is immune from the problem of opioids, a class of pain-relieving drugs, including painkillers and heroin, whose abuse has been called a national public health crisis. States report continued increases in deaths attributed to opioids. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other federal agencies are overhauling their approaches to the epidemic. Before leaving for its summer recess in July, Congress approved bipartisan legislation to address treatment, while states are enacting prescription limits and presidential candidates are debating the merits of treatment over interdiction. Organized medicine is pledging to help curb addiction, and pharmacies are making the overdose-reversing drug naloxone available without a prescription.

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