Fresh Approaches to the Overdose Crisis

Dr. Jeffrey Singer returned to the program to discuss his presentation at the Cato Institute on fresh approaches to the overdose crisis, that do not limit doctor’s medical freedom or expand the failed War on Drugs.The narrative that doctors are getting people hooked on opioids is a myth, Singer says. Most people who are addicted and dying from overdoses are taking illegal fentanyl.In 2016, the CDC issued guidelines that made it much harder for doctors like Singer to prescribe appropriate doses of painkillers following surgeries. Since then, the guidelines have become law in many states, making them difficult to reverse despite an evolving consensus in which even the CDC has had to admit the folly of its original recommendations.What does a fresh approach to the opioid crisis look like? It begins with harm reduction, decriminalization, and treating people as responsible adults capable of making their own decisions about drugs – including in the context of a medical procedure.