LAUSR

Many Americans have or have had a bottle of opioids in their medicine cabinets. In previous decades, these powerful painkillers were primarily reserved for cancer-related pain, severe pain (e.g., after surgery), and end-of-life care. In 2016, more than 214 million prescriptions for opioid pain relievers were dispensed—enough for nearly every adult in America to have a bottle of pills.3 The unprecedented volume of prescription painkillers in the market and the leftover supply sitting in homes have triggered inappropriate use—a major contributor to overdose and a potential gateway to heroin. Four in five new heroin users start out by misusing prescription painkillers and turn to heroin when their prescriptions run out or become too expensive.4