Between 1999 and 2021 the US saw a massive increase in opioid (heroin, fentanyl, morphine, etc.) overdose deaths. The result: we are now in the midst of a so-called “opioid epidemic.” But what does that mean? How should the government respond? And how can we change it? 

It turns out the CDC's overdose death counts are exaggerated, and the inaccuracies have fueled a massive and never ending war on drugs. In this episode I discuss the mistakes we often make when thinking (and talking) about the opioid crisis. 

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