WorthyNews:White House puts the cost of the opioid crisis at $504 billion in 2015

[WorthyNewsBot]

(Worthy News) - The economic cost of the opioid crisis was $504 billion in 2015 — more than six times the most recently estimated cost of the epidemic, according to a new White House report.

According to the Council of Economic Advisers report, more than 50,000 Americans died of a drug overdose in 2015, of which 63 percent reportedly involved opioids.

Opioids are prescribed to reduce pain for people recovering from surgery or undergoing medical treatment, but also have a high potential for abuse. Users often move to other lethal, non-medicinal drugs such as heroin, which produces a similar effect but is much less expensive. [ Source: Washington Examiner (Read More...) ]

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