Opioid overdose crisis: time for a radical rethink

The opioid epidemic is one of the worst public health disasters affecting the USA and Canada. Over the past two decades, nearly 600 000 people have died from an opioid overdose in these two countries, and an estimated 1·2 million people could die from opioid overdoses by 2029. The opioid crisis, which involves both prescribed opioids such as oxycodone and illicit drugs such as heroin, has reached new heights amid the pandemic. Against this backdrop, the Stanford–Lancet Commission on the opioid epidemic in North America, published on Feb 5, maps out an action plan to de-escalate the crisis.