Painkiller epidemic: Nearly half of Americans know an addict

Almost half of all Americans personally know someone who has been addicted to prescription painkillers ”” and most people feel the federal government isn’t doing enough to stem a growing epidemic of opioid addiction, a new survey shows.

The survey released Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation also found that a large majority of Americans believe that lack of access to care for people suffering from substance abuse is a problem in the United States.

The findings come as abuse of opioids ”” including prescription painkillers and the illegal drug heroin ”” has significantly increased in recent years.

Read it all.

print

Posted in * Culture-Watch, * International News & Commentary, America/U.S.A., Drugs/Drug Addiction, Ethics / Moral Theology, Health & Medicine, Theology