Following decades of over-prescription of opioid pain medications—opioid addiction has reached epidemic levels. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports, over 190 million opioid prescriptions are written in the U.S., each year. That has led to over 11 million reporting abusing the drugs—and at least 15,000 overdose deaths, from prescription opioids, alone.

Opioids, like oxycodone and hydrocodone, have their place in pain management. But the medical community has new awareness of the dangers, especially considering revelations of questionable marketing tactics by some manufacturers. 

(more…)