S&T Policy Forum examines evolving opioid epidemic

Fentanyl and the Evolving Opioid Epidemic: What Strategies Should Policy Makers Consider?

Major policy efforts are being aimed at combating the epidemic of opioid addiction and overdose deaths. In response to the epidemic, the medical community and policy makers have attempted to intervene; to date, these varied approaches have done little to reverse the increase in mortality related to opioid overdose. One factor that has complicated efforts to control overdose deaths has been the ...

Novel Synthetic Opioids: An Opioid Epidemic Within an Opioid Epidemic.

North America is currently facing an opioid epidemic. Opioid overdose deaths have increased 200% since 2000, and in 2014, 28,647 drug-poisoning deaths were attributed to some type of opioid. Multiple sources of opioids contribute to this growing problem and include prescription opioids (including natural and semisynthetic opioids, eg, oxycodone, hydrocodone), methadone, and other synthetic opio...

Forecasting the opioid epidemic.

S ince 2000, almost half a million Americans have died from drug overdoses. This modern plague— largely driven by opioid addiction—degrades health, saps productivity, spawns crime, and devastates families, all at enormous societal cost. How did we get here, and what do we do now? About 20 years ago, compassionate advocacy for better treatment of chronic pain, combined with aggressive marketing ...

Modeling the opioid epidemic

Opioid addiction has become a global epidemic and a national health crisis in recent years, with the number of opioid overdose fatalities steadily increasing since the 1990s. In contrast to the dynamics of a typical illicit drug or disease epidemic, opioid addiction has its roots in legal, prescription medication a fact which greatly increases the exposed population and provides additional drug...

The Evolving Epidemic