According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), sales of prescription opioids have quadrupled in the United States since 1999, even though there has not been an overall change in the amount of pain reported.
People with chronic pain conditions unrelated to cancer often depend on prescription opioids to manage their pain. As the volume of opioid usage has increased, so has the misuse, abuse and overdose of these drugs in Kentucky and across the United States.
Source: Medical Xpress