,,,From Opioids to Marijuana: Out of the Tunnel and Into the Fog

After more than two decades of escalating morbidity and mortality stemming from the opioid epidemic in the United States, early signs suggest that specific mitigating interventions are taking hold to lessen deleterious public health impacts. Declared public health emergencies at every level of government have led to legal reforms to monitor the crises and infuse essential resources. 1 Extensive public education campaigns targeting health care workers and patients have significantly raised risk awareness. 2 Unscrupulous doctors and entities operating pain management clinics ("pill mills") have been prosecuted or disbanded. 3 National and regional lawsuits against pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, and retailers (among others) may lead to mass settlements and greater corporate accountability. 4 Even as new forms of fentanyl,