The new CDC guidelines on prescribing opioids are a strong response to the over-prescription of opioids. US doctors wrote 259 million opioid prescriptions in 2012. Opioids had been marketed as great way to treat pain with few risks. Those claims turned out to be completely false. There's a relationship between heroin and opioid addiction. When opioids become less available, those struggling with addiction often turn to heroin since heroin is an opioid that is available illegally. 

The big take-away should be that getting a prescription for opioids is not a decision to be made lightly. Many teenagers get an opioid prescription after getting their wisdom teeth removed. In 2014, 34,000 people died in car accidents and 47,000 died from drug overdoses. Of the 47,000 overdose deaths,  28,647 were from opioids. 

A sad graphic that shows the impact on Alaska and our nation since 2003 is at http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/01/07/us/drug-overdose-deaths-in-the-us.html

Labels: moderation: safe