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- In 2015, 33,000 people died from opioid overdoses, which caused almost two-thirds of all overdoses in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
- Opioids include prescription painkillers like Oxycontin as well as illegal drugs like heroin and synthetic pain medication, such as Fentanyl.
- Heroin deaths rose 20 percent this past year, exceeding gun homicides, according to the CDC data.
- Two key factors are at play in the opioid epidemic: an over-prescription of opioids by physicians and a flood of illegal opioids, including heroin and Fentanyl, according to CDC Director Tom Frieden.
- Frieden says members of the medical community need to do a better job caring for patients who have chronic pain and treating patients who have become addicted to opioids.
Class discussion questions
- Essential question : Why does drug addiction appear to be a growing problem in the United States?
- What are opioids? Why has opioid abuse risen across the country in recent years?
- Do you think communities need to do more to educate people about issues associated with the opioid epidemic, including chronic pain and the dangers of addiction? Explain your answer.
- What steps can lawmakers and government organizations like the CDC do to help stop the opioid epidemic?
