Opiates for All
January 30, 2018
WWLTV reports some astounding data:
By the end of 2016, the opioid prescribing rate in Louisiana had declined almost 11 percent since 2007.
But even with that marked progress, there were still almost enough opioid prescriptions dispensed for every resident in Louisiana to have one, according to the latest data released from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
With a rate of 98.1 opioid prescriptions distributed per 100 people in 2016, Louisiana was still well above the national rate of 66.5. Only four states [only four?!]— Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee — had higher prescribing rates.
“Obviously, as an administration, we acknowledge it is a crisis here in Louisiana,” said Michelle Alletto, deputy secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health. [emphasis added]
Read here about the family that made a fortune on Oxycontin, the most popular prescription opioid.
