Why Is There an Opioid Crisis?
Last week, the opioid epidemic was declared a 'public health emergency' in the United States, but what are opioids, and why is the way they interact with the human brain potentially so...
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Last week, the opioid epidemic was declared a ‘public health emergency’ in the United States — something advocates have been pushing for a while. Because at this point, experts agree that America is in the middle of an opioid crisis. According to the CDC, around 90 Americans die from opioid overdoses every day That's about as many as those who die in car crashes. There are all kinds of different factors that led to this crisis. But the main reasons have a lot to do with what these drugs are, how they reduce pain, and why they’re so addictive. First, some terminology. You hear people throwing around words like opioids and opiates, not to mention heroin, oxy, and fentanyl. But those mean different things. Opioids are any drug that acts on opioid rece...
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Last week, the opioid epidemic was declared a ‘public health emergency’ in the United States — something advocates have been pushing for a while. Because at this point, experts agree that America is in the middle of an opioid crisis. According to the CDC, around 90 Americans die from opioid overdoses every day That's about as many as those who die in car crashes. There are all kinds of different factors that led to this crisis. But the main reasons have a lot to do with what these drugs are, how they reduce pain, and why they’re so addictive. First, some terminology. You hear people throwing around words like opioids and opiates, not to mention heroin, oxy, and fentanyl. But those mean different things. Opioids are any drug that acts on opioid rece...
