The opioid
epidemic BY BRENT MCCRAW, M.ED. DIRECTOR, CENTRA ADDICTION & RECOVERY SERVICES
D
eaths from opioid overdoses are skyrocketing across America. An estimated 44 Americans die every day from prescription opioid and heroin overdoses, and at least two of them occur in Virginia. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has labeled prescription drug abuse an “epidemic� in America with prescription opioid
overdoses more than quadrupling since 2000. CDC researchers estimate that 28,647 drug overdose deaths in 2014 in the United States involved some type of opioid, including heroin. Non-fatal opioid overdoses that require medical care in a hospital or emergency department are even more prevalent, with the number of such events increasing by a factor of six in the past 15 years, according to the CDC.
