Slowing the opioid analgesic overdose epidemic

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6043a4.htm ), more people in the United States overdose and die from prescription drug opioids than from cocaine and heroin combined. Data from CDC suggest that these interventions are effective; since 1996, these programs have trained over 53000 potential overdose bystanders (drug users, friends, family members, healthcare providers and staff at homeless shelters, substance abuse treatment programs, and prisons), and they report 10171 overdose reversals ( www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/wk/mm6106.pdf ).