Powerful at relieving pain, opioids undoubtedly help many people cope with illness or injury, yet they present a real risk for developing substance use disorders. In 2013, drug overdoses involving prescription pain medication killed 44 people on average every day in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The agency reports that enough prescription pain medication was prescribed in 2010 “to medicate every American adult around-the-clock for a month.” In addition, studies have shown that individuals with prescription drug use disorders can transition to heroin as their disease progresses, since heroin has similar effects.

This Forum event — in connection with a national poll by The Boston Globe and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health — examined Americans’ attitudes about prescription pain medication misuse, as well as approaches to resolving this very serious national problem. The panel featured Michael Botticelli, Director of National Drug Control Policy at the White House; Monica Bharel, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health; and other experts who discussed the role of policymaking in addressing this crisis.

Presented May 18, 2015 in Collaboration with The Boston Globe.

Watch the entire series from The Forum at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health at www.ForumHSPH.org.