Opioid prescriptions are out of sight

For seven years, I was the Representative for the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD-NJ) for the 24th District where I gave testimony on drug Issues before budget committees in the Assembly and State Senate. Before that I did a drug usage study of High School students in two New Jersey counties, but neither of the above would prepare me for today’s issues.
We know the following and more now on opioid issues:
1. 1 in 7 persons who receive a refill are addicted within a year to opioids!
2. Thereare 300 million annual Opioid prescriptions — insanity!
3. An approximate 60 percent of overdose deaths involve opioids!
4. An estimated 2 million Americans 12 and older are addicted to opioids!
5. 91 Americans die every day from opioids!
6. Opioid usage adds 40 times the likelihood of addiction to heroin!
7. There are an estimated 276,000 adolescent non-medical users!
Now I stopped with 7 statistics, but no one is lucky with these stats and more. This is a war. Yes, you can blame pharmaceutical companies and over or deliberate doctor prescriptions, but we are beyond that now. This demands action at all levels of government and the time is now. Morgues are finding it difficult to handle the deaths, which we means we need to step up to save lives.
Bill Weightman
Hardyston