When I say the opioid crisis or the opioid epidemic, you probably say enough already.

I understand you are sick of hearing about it. say, enough already.

I understand.

You are sick of hearing about it.

We are more than 25 years in if you use the introduction of OxyContin as the onset of this crisis,

which most smart people in the field do.

OxyContin is a powerful medical pain reliever that its manufacturer, Purdue Pharma,

promised would not addict its users away other opioids can.

This was a big deal, since many millions of people seek out pain relief,

whether intermittently or regularly.

But that non-addictive promise, it turned out to be wrong.

Addiction to OxyContin and then similar drugs from other pharma firms spiraled into a public health catastrophe. In 2023, 81,000 people in the US died from

an opioid overdose, more than 10 times the number in 1999.

So the problem has continued to worsen.

Many of the current overdoses aren't from prescription drugs like OxyContin, but from

black market versions or from other drugs that contain fentanyl.

That's another synthetic opioid that began as a medical drug, and which is far more powerful

than most opioids.

Fentanyl has now worked its way into the supply of street drugs in the U.S.

most of it smuggled across the Mexican border by American citizens.

A great many people, policy makers, medical professionals and regulators, parents, law

enforcement, they've all spent the past few decades trying to end the opioid crisis, but without much success.

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