Huffington Post Blog – Women, Chronic Pain, and Addiction

The U.S. opioid epidemic continues and concurrently, a dramatic increase in prescribed opioid painkillers has increased. Over 2 million Americans struggle with abuse of an opioid pain reliever, and overdose deaths tripled since 1999 according to the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM). Addiction is a pervasive problem afflicting over 21 million people in the U.S. over the age of 12; this is inclusive of addiction to alcohol and illicit drugs, which resulted in approximately 47,000 drug overdoses, according to the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Overprescribing opioid painkillers resulted as…

To read more of the ASBA Diplomate and Board Member Dr. Elliott Alpher's Huffington Post Blog, click here.

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