Posts Tagged: epidemic

Addressing the opioid crisis: a call to action for California’s veterans

Image by tab62

by NICK BUSSE posted 03.01.2024

OPINION – The opioid epidemic in California is an urgent matter that requires immediate action, particularly with regards to its effects on veterans and their families. It is time for lawmakers in Sacramento to take decisive action and stand up for our veterans in their time of need. We need leaders – policymakers who will lead by example and influence – to optimize better treatment methods for our veterans and help tackle an untapped salient issue, long overdue.

Deadly opioid overdose epidemic overshadowed by COVID-19

Illustration: Hydrocodone pills and prescription bottles. (Image: Andy Dean Photography, via Shutterstock.)

by RANDAL PHAM posted 05.04.2021

OPINION: A record 3,200 Californians lost their lives to opioids in 2019 — well before the stress and disruption caused by COVID-19 caused overdose deaths to spike to new highs nationwide. By May 2020, powerful synthetic opioids such as fentanyl caused California’s 12-month all-drug overdose death rate to spike nearly 27%, significantly faster than the national average.