Question

Now that we are talking about Torts, I want you to consider the opiod crisis currently in the United States. In your "supplemental materials" tab (all the way at the bottom) is an article about the opiod epidemic. Please read this article and tell me how you would address this problem. Additionally, please locate two comments from your colleagues and comment (respectfully) on their proposals.

Answer 1

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS:

Supplemental material" is additional material which is used to support your main submission. This material can include, but is not restricted to, images, QuickTime or MPEG animations, source code, PDF with embedded multimedia and HTML or VRML presentations.

• In the late 1990s, pharmaceutical companies reassured the medical community that patients would not become addicted to opioid pain relievers and healthcare providers began to prescribe them at greater rates.
• Increased prescription of opioid medications led to widespread misuse of both prescription and non-prescription opioids before it became clear that these medications could indeed be highly addictive.
• In 2017 HHS declared a public health emergency and announced a 5-Point Strategy To Combat the Opioid Crisis

• Understanding the Opioid Crisis

  OPIOID CRISIS:
  Devastating consequences of the opioid epidemic include increases in opioid misuse and related overdoses, as well as the rising incidence of newborns experiencing withdrawal syndrome due to opioid use and misuse during pregnancy.

• 2018 data shows that every day, 128 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids.1 The misuse of and addiction to opioids—including prescription pain relievers, heroin, and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl—is a serious national crisis that affects public health as well as social and economic welfare. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the total "economic burden" of prescription opioid misuse alone in the United States is $78.5 billion a year, including the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement.2