Opioids are generally prescribed by doctors for their pain-relieving effects. They are a class of drugs that include medicines such as oxycodone, morphine, hydrocodone and codeine, as well as the illegal drug heroin, and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. However, these are not always used as prescribed which has resulted in a massive crisis in the U.S.

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), approximately 3.8 million individuals had a substance use disorder (SUD) involving prescription pain relievers and 591,000 had a SUD involving heroin in 2015. Read more →