By Katie Spence Joanne Harrison Clough, a single mother, and attorney raising her granddaughter, said that when her daughter, Emily, was pregnant, she sought in-person treatments for opioid addiction. However, no one was willing to accept her as a patient. “She had a terrible time when she was pregnant,” said Clough. “We tried to get her in […]
Tag: Opioid Crisis
The misuse of and addiction to opioids including prescription pain relievers, heroin, and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl is a serious national crisis that affects public health as well as social and economic welfare. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the total “economic burden” of prescription opioid misuse alone in the United States is $78.5 billion a year, including the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement.