About twenty-three years ago, public health officials began to notice increases in what would later be called "deaths of despair," referring to suicides, deaths from alcoholism, and drug overdoses. Public health officials and legislators responded by seeking to limit opioid prescriptions for non-cancer chronic pain. Their tactics included violent raids and criminal charges against doctors deemed to overprescribe pain relief. Opioid prescriptions for non-cancer chronic pain fell dramatically.
The war on pain drugs turned out to be a colossal failure. So-called deaths of despair rose even faster, and millions of Americans with chronic pain have had trouble obtaining prescriptions that would ease their suffering because doctors fear losing their licenses. Meanwhile, the government doubled down on failed policies, citing deeply flawed statistical studies and misrepresenting data.
