In 2014 overdose-related deaths hit record numbers in the U.S., and it was prescription painkillers, not illegal substances, that caused a large percentage of the fatalities. As this video from Vox explains, in the 90s doctors began prescribing more and more opioid painkillers (like OxyContin) to help Americans suffering with chronic pain.
Pharmaceutical companies claimed these painkillers were safer and far less addictive than the other pain-dulling drugs out there. But that just wasn’t true, and many users got hooked. So when doctors started pulling back on opioids, many painkiller addicts turned to heroin instead. Which leads to the question: How should doctors treat chronic pain, and could medical marijuana be the answer?
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