Understanding the Opioid Epidemic

"The Demand for Opioids"

Clip | 15m 38s | Video has closed captioning.

The crisis of opioid addiction is a relatively new problem in America. Prior to the mid-90s, the use of opioids to treat pain was limited. Pharmaceutical companies began telling physicians that opioid pain relievers were safe, effective and non-addictive. Around the same time, doctors were being pressured to treat patients more aggressively.