What is it about?
A review of government data suggests policy focused on limiting opioid prescribing is misguided and might be exacerbating the opioid overdose problem. The underlying causes of nonmedical drug use and abuse are complex and multifactorial. The primary force driving overdose deaths appears to be drug prohibition.
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Why is it important?
These findings challenge the prevailing (standard) narrative that drives present-day policy towards the opioid overdose crisis.
Perspectives
It is hoped that this will lead to a de-emphasis on the supply-side approach to the opioid overdose problem, allow health care practitioners to regain the freedom to use best their clinical judgment and expertise in prescribing opioids to their patients in pain free from government micro-management, and shift public policy regarding nonmedical drug use towards harm reduction and decriminalization.
Jeffrey Singer
Cato Institute
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Today’s nonmedical opioid users are not yesterday’s patients; implications of data indicating stable rates of nonmedical use and pain reliever use disorder, Journal of Pain Research, February 2019, Dove Medical Press,
DOI: 10.2147/jpr.s199750.
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