The entry is a one-hour exploration of the causes of the wave of prescription opioid addiction in the United States, as well as how the medical industry is responding to the crisis. The program elicits comments and personal narratives from a wide range of physicians, health policy analysts, and people who have been personally touched by the opioid addiction problem. It traces the sources of the crisis, including changes in the law and in the medical marketplace. And it explores the devastating impact of opioid dependence, ranging from babies who are born with addictive drugs in their system, to adults whose careers and personal lives cascaded into disaster, as the result of injuries for which addictive pain pills were overprescribed.
