New data released by the federal government indicates that the number of prescribed opioid pills shipped in the United States fell by nearly 45% between 2011 and 2019, despite overdose deaths rising to record levels due to increased user reliance on heroin and illegal fentanyl.
Reasons Behind the Decline in Prescribed Opioid Pills
The data confirms what has long been known about the country’s addiction crisis: users initially became dependent on the opioid pills that flooded the country, then shifted to cheaper, more readily available street drugs following tightened law enforcement measures, public mobilization, and changing medical community views on prescribing opioids for pain treatment.
Impact of Opioids on Deaths in the United States
An analysis by The Washington Post of data from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and federal death records indicates that many counties experiencing the highest fentanyl death rates—in states like West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio—started with alarmingly high per capita opioid pill dosage, according to The Washington Post’s analysis of data from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and federal death records.
Overdose Deaths
Overdose deaths reached a staggering level in 2021, surpassing 100,000 deaths for the first time in U.S. history. According to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 110,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2022, with two-thirds dying from synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
Impact of Opioids on Society
Daniel Ciccarone, a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, who studies street drugs and overdose death trends, said: “We created a massive group of people dependent on prescription opioids, and when we stepped back from that, we created a wave of heroin—and that was quickly replaced by fentanyl, and people really began to die.”
Impact of Opioids on Pharmaceutical Companies
New data collected from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s database, which details opioid pill shipments—from manufacturers to distributors to pharmacies—shows that the number of prescribed hydrocodone and oxycodone pills peaked in 2011 at 12.8 billion pills and fell to less than 7.1 billion pills by 2019.
Impact of Opioids on Deaths in Counties
An analysis by The Washington Post of data from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and federal death records indicates that many counties experiencing the highest fentanyl death rates—in states like West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio—started with alarmingly high per capita opioid pill dosages, according to The Washington Post’s analysis of data from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and federal death records.
Impact of Opioids on Pharmaceutical Companies
New data collected from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s database, which details opioid pill shipments—from manufacturers to distributors to pharmacies—shows that the number of prescribed hydrocodone and oxycodone pills peaked in 2011 at 12.8 billion pills and fell to less than 7.1 billion pills by 2019.
Impact of Opioids on Deaths in Counties
An analysis by The Washington Post of data from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and federal death records indicates that many counties experiencing the highest fentanyl death rates—in states like West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio—started with alarmingly high per capita opioid pill dosages, according to The Washington Post’s analysis of data from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and federal death records.
Impact
Opioids and Mortality in Counties
The Washington Post’s analysis of data from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and federal death records indicates that many counties experiencing the highest rates of fentanyl-related deaths – in states like West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio – started with alarmingly high doses of opioids per capita, according to the Washington Post’s analysis.
Impact of Opioids on Pharmaceutical Companies
New data collected from the DEA database, which details the shipments of opioids – from manufacturers to distributors to pharmacies – shows that the number of prescribed hydrocodone and oxycodone pills peaked in 2011 at 12.8 billion pills, and decreased to less than 7.1 billion pills by 2019.
Impact of Opioids on Pharmaceutical Companies
New data collected from the DEA database, which details the shipments of opioids – from manufacturers to distributors to pharmacies – shows that the number of prescribed hydrocodone and oxycodone pills peaked in 2011 at 12.8 billion pills, and decreased to less than 7.1 billion pills by 2019.
Impact of Opioids on Pharmaceutical Companies
New data collected from the DEA database, which details the shipments of opioids – from manufacturers to distributors to pharmacies – shows that the number of prescribed hydrocodone and oxycodone pills peaked in 2011 at 12.8 billion pills, and decreased to less than 7.1 billion pills by 2019.
Impact of Opioids on Pharmaceutical Companies
New data collected from the DEA database, which details the shipments of opioids – from manufacturers to distributors to pharmacies – shows that the number of prescribed hydrocodone and oxycodone pills peaked in 2011 at 12.8 billion pills, and decreased to less than 7.1 billion pills by 2019.
Impact of Opioids on Pharmaceutical Companies
New data collected from the DEA database, which details the shipments of opioids – from manufacturers to distributors to pharmacies – shows that the number of prescribed hydrocodone and oxycodone pills peaked in 2011 at 12.8 billion pills, and decreased to less than 7.1 billion pills by 2019.
Impact of Opioids on Pharmaceutical Companies
New data collected from the DEA database, which details the shipments of opioids – from manufacturers to distributors to pharmacies – shows that the number of prescribed hydrocodone and oxycodone pills peaked in 2011 at 12.8 billion pills, and decreased to less than 7.1 billion pills by 2019.
Impact of Opioids on Pharmaceutical Companies
New data collected from the DEA database, which details the shipments of opioids – from manufacturers to distributors to pharmacies – shows that the number of prescribed hydrocodone and oxycodone pills peaked in 2011 at 12.8 billion pills, and decreased to less than 7.1 billion pills by 2019.
Impact of Opioids on Pharmaceutical Companies
New data collected from the DEA database, which details the shipments of opioids – from manufacturers to distributors to pharmacies – shows that the number of prescribed hydrocodone and oxycodone pills peaked in 2011 at 12.8 billion pills, and decreased to less than 7.1 billion pills by 2019.
Impact of Opioids on Pharmaceutical Companies
The Impact of Opioids on Pharmaceutical Companies
New data collected from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s database, which details the shipments of opioid pills – from manufacturers to distributors to pharmacies – shows that the number of prescribed hydrocodone and oxycodone pills peaked in 2011 at 12.8 billion pills and declined to less than 7.1 billion pills by 2019.
The Impact of Opioids on Pharmaceutical Companies
New data collected from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s database, which details the shipments of opioid pills – from manufacturers to distributors to pharmacies – shows that the number of prescribed hydrocodone and oxycodone pills peaked in 2011 at 12.8 billion pills and declined to less than 7.1 billion pills by 2019.
The Impact of Opioids on Pharmaceutical Companies
New data collected from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s database, which details the shipments of opioid pills – from manufacturers to distributors to pharmacies – shows that the number of prescribed hydrocodone and oxycodone pills peaked in 2011 at 12.8 billion pills and declined to less than 7.1 billion pills by 2019.
The Impact of Opioids on Pharmaceutical Companies
New data collected from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s database, which details the shipments of opioid pills – from manufacturers to distributors to pharmacies – shows that the number of prescribed hydrocodone and oxycodone pills peaked in 2011 at 12.8 billion pills and declined to less than 7.1 billion pills by 2019.
The Impact of Opioids on Pharmaceutical Companies
New data collected from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s database, which details the shipments of opioid pills – from manufacturers to distributors to pharmacies – shows that the number of prescribed hydrocodone and oxycodone pills peaked in 2011 at 12.8 billion pills and declined to less than 7.1 billion pills by 2019.
The Impact of Opioids on Pharmaceutical Companies
New data collected from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s database, which details the shipments of opioid pills – from manufacturers to distributors to pharmacies – shows that the number of prescribed hydrocodone and oxycodone pills peaked in 2011 at 12.8 billion pills and declined to less than 7.1 billion pills by 2019.
The Impact of Opioids on Pharmaceutical Companies
New data collected from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s database, which details the shipments of opioid pills – from manufacturers to distributors to pharmacies – shows that the number of prescribed hydrocodone and oxycodone pills peaked in 2011 at 12.8 billion pills and declined to less than 7.1 billion pills by 2019.
The Impact of Opioids on Pharmaceutical Companies
New data collected from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s database, which details the shipments of opioid pills – from manufacturers to distributors to pharmacies – shows that the number of prescribed hydrocodone and oxycodone pills peaked in 2011 at 12.8 billion pills and declined to less than 7.1 billion pills by 2019.
The Impact of Opioids on Pharmaceutical Companies
New data collected from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s database, which details the shipments of opioid pills – from manufacturers to distributors to pharmacies – shows that the number of prescribed hydrocodone and oxycodone pills peaked in 2011 at 12.8 billion pills and declined to less than 7.1 billion pills by 2019.
The Opioid Crisis and Pharmaceutical Companies
New data collected from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration database, which details shipments of opioids – from manufacturers to distributors to pharmacies – indicate that the number of prescribed hydrocodone and oxycodone pills peaked in 2011 at 12.8 billion pills and declined to less than 7.1 billion pills by 2019.
Impact of Opioids on Deaths in the United States
According to an analysis by the Washington Post of DEA data and federal death records, many counties experiencing the highest fentanyl-related death rates – in states like West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio – began with alarmingly high per-capita doses of prescription opioids, as reported in the Washington Post’s analysis of DEA data and federal death records.
Impact of Opioids on Deaths in the United States
According to an analysis by the Washington Post of DEA data and federal death records, many counties experiencing the highest fentanyl-related death rates – in states like West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio – began with alarmingly high per-capita doses of prescription opioids, as reported in the Washington Post’s analysis of DEA data and federal death records.
Impact of Opioids on Deaths in the United States
According to an analysis by the Washington Post of DEA data and federal death records, many counties experiencing the highest fentanyl-related death rates – in states like West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio – began with alarmingly high per-capita doses of prescription opioids, as reported in the Washington Post’s analysis of DEA data and federal death records.
Impact of Opioids on Deaths in the United States
According to an analysis by the Washington Post of DEA data and federal death records, many counties experiencing the highest fentanyl-related death rates – in states like West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio – began with alarmingly high per-capita doses of prescription opioids, as reported in the Washington Post’s analysis of DEA data and federal death records.
Impact of Opioids on Deaths in the United States
According to an analysis by the Washington Post of DEA data and federal death records, many counties experiencing the highest fentanyl-related death rates – in states like West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio – began with alarmingly high per-capita doses of prescription opioids, as reported in the Washington Post’s analysis of DEA data and federal death records.
Impact of Opioids on Pharmaceutical Companies
Newly revealed data from the Drug Enforcement Administration tracks every prescribed and distributed opioid pill in the United States between 2015 and 2019. The Washington Post, in collaboration with the owner of the Charleston Gazette-Mail, filed a lawsuit to make public records and publish data covering the years between 2006 and 2014. The Washington Post analyzed hydrocodone and oxycodone shipments to pharmacies and doctors over 14 years as they account for three-quarters of the total opioid shipments to pharmacies.
Evolution
The Opioid Crisis has Reached a More Deadly Stage
The opioid crisis has escalated to a more deadly stage with the use of synthetic fentanyl made from raw materials imported from China, manufactured by drug cartels in Mexico, and smuggled into the United States with devastating effects.
The Impact of Opioids on Deaths in the United States
The Washington Post investigation published in December indicates that illegal fentanyl has become the leading cause of death among Americans aged 18 to 49. Deaths related to fentanyl surged by 94% from 2019 to 2021, and the drug now causes more deaths in the United States than car accidents, gun violence, and suicide.
Decline in Prescribed Opioid Pills Except One
The Washington Post highlights in its analysis that all prescribed opioid pills have seen a decline over the past five years of data, except for buprenorphine, the drug used to treat opioid addiction. Shipments of buprenorphine to pharmacies and doctors have significantly increased, as health officials emphasize its importance in combating the addiction crisis—from 42 million doses in 2006 to 577 million doses in 2019.
Pharmaceutical Companies and the Opioid Crisis
Many cities and states involved in the massive federal lawsuit in Ohio accuse pharmaceutical manufacturers, distribution companies, pharmacies, and other entities of facilitating the public health crisis by marketing, shipping, and selling opioid pills, despite clear signs of their addictive nature. The companies denied any wrongdoing and previously blamed doctors who excessively prescribe painkillers, as well as the doctors and pharmacists working in “pill mills,” and the users themselves.
The Number of Opioid-Related Deaths in the United States
More than 300,000 people in the United States have died from opioids since 2000.
The Continued Presence of Opioid Pills in the United States
Despite the recent decline, the United States still suffers from an abundance of opioid pills. New data indicate that 45 billion opioid pills were shipped between 2015 and 2019. Statistics show that opioid-related deaths – in some cases mixed with other drugs – averaged 16,400 deaths annually during that five-year period.
The Impact of Opioids on Physicians and the Medical Community
J. Caleb Alexander, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, stated, “The decline in legal opioids is a good thing. But we are in a framework where many people continue to be lost due to these products.”
The Complex Reasons for the Decline in Opioid Pills
The reasons behind the national decline in opioid pills are complex. The Drug Enforcement Administration – criticized for its slow response to curtailing the diversion of opioids – took civil enforcement actions against some of the largest opioid distributors in the late 2000s, while federal and local law enforcement targeted pill mills and reckless doctors supplying streets with pills.
The Shift of Physicians in Prescribing Opioids
Health officials began issuing alarming warnings about the misuse of opioid pills, and the medical community realized it had been “fooled,” with Andrew Kolodny, medical director of the Opioid Policy Research Project at Brandeis University, stating, “They began to realize that the messages being spread by the drug industry that no one becomes addicted are false.
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