For Americans under age 45, the most likely way of dying prematurely is opioid overdose. Stadiums full of people are dying, an average of 110,000 people each year and a recent Stanford Lancet Report predicts that, barring serious intervention, we will see over 1.2 million more deaths by 2030.
Methadone is the scientific answer to this problem, with potential to cut death rates by 50 percent or more. Buprenorphine, a more recently developed medication has similar outcomes but has also struggled to gain traction among providers despite recent deregulation efforts. (Buprenorphine is also much less regulated, and some patients turn to it despite preferring methadone simply because it is easier to get).
