In the 1990s , opioids were prescribed for pain management , as they reduce the nervous system ’ s reception of pain and increase feelings of pleasure . Opioids became very popular – and addictive . Higher doses can slow heart rate and breathing , which is where they become dangerous . Since 1999 , over 500,000 people have died from an opioid overdose .

A prescription for pain

Drug use , addiction and overdoses have devastated communities and families for centuries , but this is a whole new scale . In the 1990s , doctors began prescribing opioids for pain management . It wasn ’ t till 1993 when doctors noticed a rise in overdose deaths , especially from those mixing the opioid with other substances .

The arrival of OxyContin

Purdue Pharma , which is owned by the Sackler family , began selling the opioid OxyContin in an aggressive marketing campaign , claiming users could take their lives back from chronic pain , with little risk of addiction . It took just a few years for annual sales to reach US $ 1bn .

14 August 2022