While President Trump and DOJ Jeff Sessions attempt to revive the war on drugs, there is an enemy lying right in front of their face. This enemy doesn’t need a vote to find its self available for sale.
Per CNN
Opioid prescriptions overall decreased 18% from 2010 to 2015. However, the number of prescriptions in 2015 was three times higher than in 1999 and four times higher than opioid prescription rates in Europe.
“The bottom line is, we still have too many people getting too many opioid prescriptions for too many days at too high a dosage,” said acting CDC Director Dr. Anne Schuchat.
Prescriptions are measured by morphine milligram equivalents, which uses morphine as a baseline to measure the equivalent prescribed opioid, which may be more powerful.
Nearly 2 million Americans are addicted to prescription opioids, and three out of four new heroin users start with prescription drugs, which is why opioid prescribing practices are a concern for public health officials. The information from the report can be used to help prevent addiction before it starts.
“Reducing prescriptions is just one part of a bigger charge to address the overall problem. It’s a very important piece of the puzzle,” Schuchat said.
Prescription opioid-related overdose deaths and treatment of opioid use disorder have trended similarly to the increase in opioid prescriptions, which quadrupled from 1999 to 2010. Much of this increase has been attributed to the increase in opioids being used to treat chronic pain.
Now there are many safer ways to help heal from pain, ones that don’t kill no where near as many Americans per year. Despite that, prescription medicine is still the go to for pain, aches and other health issues.
Read more from CNN and watch their report here