Are Policy Failures behind Opioid Epidemic?

Twenty years after OxyContin first hit the market, the United States is in the midst of one of the worst drug overdose epidemics in our history. Abuse of opioid drugs and heroin continues to soar. The issue has forced its way to the top of the political agenda in critical primary states, most notably New Hampshire, where at least 385 people died of overdoses in 2015.

The epidemic is driving major increases in morbidity and mortality with huge costs to families, the social fabric of communities, and the economy. In their recent analysis of increasing death rates among middle-aged Americans, economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton called attention to “an epidemic of pain” that is fueling greater drug use, alcohol abuse, and suicides. They conclude: “if the epidemic is brought under control, its survivors may have a healthy old age. However, addictions are hard to treat and pain is hard to control, so those currently in midlife may be a lost generation.”