Pharmaceutical Retailers Face Trial in Opioid Lawsuit

Since the beginning of the opioid epidemic in 1999 to the year 2018, almost 450,000 people have died from an overdose involving prescription and illicit opioids. Highly addictive opioids like hydrocodone (Vicodin) and oxycodone (OxyContin) are prescribed for moderate to severe pain, but up to 29% of patients who take opioids for chronic pain misuse them. The high cost of these pills and difficulty in obtaining enough of them  to maintain their addiction has led many people to turn to illicit opioids like heroin or fentanyl. In years 2010 and 2013, there were rapid increases in overdose deaths because of these drugs. About 80% of heroin users misused prescription opioids first.