An opioid crisis foretold
Editorial
The New York Times (US)
Saturday, April 21, 2018
Saturday, April 21, 2018
Today’s opioid crisis is already the deadliest drug epidemic in American history. Opioid overdoses killed more than 45,000 people in the 12 months that ended in September, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The epidemic is now responsible for nearly as many American deaths per year as AIDS was at the peak of that crisis. The death toll from opioids could climb for years to come. Millions of people are dependent on or addicted to these drugs, and many of them are increasingly turning to more potent, illicit supplies of heroin and fentanyl, which are cheap and readily available. Yet only about 10 percent of Americans who suffer from substance abuse receive specialized addiction treatment.
