Fighting Back Against the Opioid Epidemic

The opioid epidemic contributes to the deaths of 115 Americans per day. In New York State from 2010 to 2015 the opioid overdose death rate doubled and the heroin death rate increased by over five times.

We need to treat people with substance abuse disorders with compassion. We should not repeat the mistakes of the past and deeply damaging, so-called war on drugs. We need to hold drug companies accountable for their behavior. We need to unite as a community to confront this challenge.

Thanks to Operation Survival for an informative forum yesterday. The evening's panel of public health experts, physicians, advocates, survivor advocates, representatives from government and law enforcement, and all the community partners involved made a forum that helped combat stigma and raise awareness, especially awareness that “addiction can happen to anyone.”