Opioid crisis

The opioid crisis (also called opioid epidemic) refers to the rapid increase in the use of prescription and non-prescription opioids in the United States. Prescription opioids include Percocet, Vicodin, Oxycodone, OxyContin and fentanyl. According to the DEA, "overdose deaths, particularly from prescription drugs and heroin, have reached epidemic levels."

In 2015 there were 52,000 American deaths from all drug overdoses. Two thirds of them, 33,000, were from opioids, compared to 16,000 in 2010 and 4,000 in 1999. In 2016, deaths from overdoses increased over the previous year by 26% in Connecticut, 35% in Delaware, 39% in Maine, and 62% in Maryland. Nearly half of all opioid overdose deaths involve a prescription opioid.

The governor of Maryland declared a State of Emergency in March 2017 to combat the epidemic. While CDC director Thomas Frieden has said that "America is awash in opioids; urgent action is critical." President Donald Trump will set aside $500 million in the 2017 budget to combat opioid addiction and has launched a commission to deal with the epidemic.

Opioid addiction has mostly been an American problem. Between 1991 and 2011, prescriptions of painkillers in the U.S. grew from 76 million to 219 million per year. Among the opioid pills prescribed are Percocet, Vicodin, Oxycodone or OxyContin. Along with that increase in volume, the potency of the opioids also increased. By 2002, one in six drug users were being prescribed drugs more powerful than morphine; by 2012 the ratio had doubled to one in three.

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