THE NORTH AMERICAN PRESCRIPTION DRUG EPIDEMIC
Make no mistake – North America is in the midst of a prescription drug crisis. Dominated by an addiction to opioids, prescription drug overdoses claim the lives of well over 100 North Americans per day, making them more deadly than traffic accidents or gun violence. The USA and Canada are the number one and two users of opioids in the world, responsible for more than 80% of global consumption with less than 5% of the population. Clearly, North Americans have a problem with opioid abuse. How did things get so bad?
The Birth of an Epidemic