We will solve the opioid crisis in this country and the solution will almost certainly come through new scientific advances. For instance, a recent study in Na

We will solve the opioid crisis in this country and the solution will almost certainly come through new scientific advances. For instance, a recent study in Nature Medicine[1] showed that you could decouple the positive analgesic (pain relief) effects of opioids from the negative effects of increased tolerance to opioids and increased sensitivity to pain. This is critical because tolerance to the effect of opioids and increased sensitivity of pain to opioids is part of what drives increased use and eventually abuse of opioids. The practical upshot of this study (if validated) is that you could potentially take a smaller amount of opioids and not have to increase your dose over time to get the same level of benefit. This could severely limit the mortality associated with opioids. I am hopeful that we will get through the opioid crisis in this country if we invest money in fixing the underlying physiological problems associated with these drugs. [1]http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/v23/n2/full/nm.4262.html http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/v23/n2/full/nm.4262.html