Resources

In 2016, more than 64,000 people died from drug overdoses in the United States. That was an increase of more than 20 percent from the previous year, and the 2017 numbers are likely to be worse. At every level of government, policymakers and public health officials are looking for solutions to this problem. And while there’s no silver bullet, we do know at least one proven strategy for reducing overdose deaths: treatment that includes medications. In this episode, we look at the barriers to helping more people get effective treatment for opioid addiction.

On this episode of The Impact, we’re looking at a possible future for pain treatment. It’s an idea known as “pain acceptance,” and in the wake of the opioid epidemic, it is gaining traction among American doctors.

As the U.S. and Canada struggle to tame the epidemic of opioid abuse, the city of Portsmouth, Ohio, shows just how difficult a battle it can be in smaller communities.

2016 was an unprecedented year for opioid overdoses nationwide. Since 1999, opioid overdoses and the amount of prescription opioids sold in the U.S. have quadrupled, creating an epidemic that spans all ages, communities, and demographics. Ohio can be considered the "ground zero" of this epidemic. The number of fatal overdoses have quadrupled in the past decade.

Annie Highwater's memoir follows the experiences of one mother who started her own life in a grossly neglected home and came to realize how those experiences both helped and hindered what would be the hardest, most heartbreaking, yet illuminating challenge of her life--her son's addiction to opiates. Annie Highwater is also a contributor to our book: "Not Far From Me: Stories of Opioids & Ohio."

In 1929, in the blue-collar city of Portsmouth, Ohio, a company built a swimming pool the size of a football field; named Dreamland, it became the vital center of the community. Now, addiction has devastated Portsmouth, as it has hundreds of small rural towns and suburbs across America—addiction like no other the country has ever faced. How that happened is the riveting story of Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic.