EXTRA: The Opioid Tragedy — How We Got Here

An update of our 2020 series, in which we spoke with physicians, researchers, and addicts about the root causes of the crisis — and the tension between abstinence and harm reduction.

SOURCES:Gail D’Onofrio • , professor and chair of emergency medicine at the Yale School of Medicine and chief of emergency services at Yale-New Haven Health. Keith Humphreys • , professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University. Stephen Loyd • , chief medical officer of Cedar Recovery and chair of the Tennessee Opioid Abatement Council. Nicole O’Donnell • , certified recovery specialist at the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Addiction Medicine and Policy. Jeanmarie Perrone • , professor of emergency medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. • Eileen Richardson, restaurant manager.

RESOURCES: • “ Toward Healthy Drug Policy in the United States — The Case of Safehouse • ,” by Evan D. Anderson, Leo Beletsky, Scott Burris, and Corey S. Davis ( The New England Journal of Medicine • , 2020). • “ Buprenorphine Deregulation and Mainstreaming Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder • ,” by Leo Beletsky, Kevin Fiscella, and Sarah E. Wakeman ( JAMA Psychiatry • , 2018). • “ Emergency Department–Initiated Buprenorphine/Naloxone Treatment for Opioid Dependence • ,” by Gail D’Onofrio, Patrick G. O’Connor, Michael V. Pantalon, Marek C. Chawarski, Susan H. Busch, Patricia H. Owens, Steven L. Bernstein, and David A. Fiellin ( JAMA • , 2015). • “ Buprenorphine-Naloxone Therapy In Pain Management • ,” by Lucy Chen, Kelly Yan Chen, and Jianren Mao ( National Institutes of Health • , 2014). • “ Prevalence and Correlates of Street-Obtained Buprenorphine Use Among Current and Former Injectors In Baltimore, Maryland • ,” by Jacquie Astemborski, Becky L. Genberg, Mirinda Gillespie, Chris-Ellyn Johanson, Gregory D. Kirk, Shruti H. Mehta, Charles R. Schuster, and David Vlahov ( U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health • , 2014). • “ The Promotion and Marketing of OxyContin: Commercial Triumph, Public Health Tragedy • ,” by Art Van Zee ( U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health • , 2009).

EXTRAS: • " Why Is the Opioid Epidemic Still Raging? • " series by Freakonomics Radio • (2024). • " The Opioid Tragedy, Part 1: 'We’ve Addicted an Entire Generation • ,'" by Freakonomics Radio • (2020). • “ The Truth About the Vaping Crisis • ,” by Freakonomics Radio • (2019).