Opinion: Tackling the opioid epidemic by giving Americans alternatives

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to dominate headlines, the opioid crisis, another very real public health threat, seems to have become an issue of the past for many. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The reality is that the opioid epidemic is continuing, and in many cases has worsened in communities across the country.

More than 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses from 2020 to 2021, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — a 28.5 percent increase from the prior 12-month period. Despite the progress made against opioid abuse and addiction in recent years, this hopeful trend has reversed during the COVID-19 pandemic as the latest numbers surpass even the yearly tolls during the height of the opioid epidemic. This surge in overdose deaths represents an increasingly urgent public health crisis that must be addressed.