HEALTH BYTES: Opioid Initiative

Deaths from drug overdoses have risen steadily over the past two decades and have become the leading cause of injury death in the United States. Prescription drugs, especially opioids, have been increasingly implicated in drug overdose deaths over the last decade. In response to recent increases in opioid-related morbidity and mortality, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has made addressing the opioid abuse problem a high priority.