Substance Use Prevention and Treatment Initiative

Opioid-related overdose deaths have devastated communities throughout the country. But fatalities related to psychostimulant drugs—which increase activity in the body’s central nervous system—are increasing, and complicating efforts to curb the nation’s overdose crisis.

The nation’s opioid epidemic has been making headlines, and much is required to curtail this public health crisis. In this episode, we hear more about the problems associated with opiate misuse and the path forward. Host Dan LeDuc talks with Cindy Reilly, director of Pew’s substance use prevention and treatment initiative, which works to expand access to treatment, and Dr. Shawn Ryan, president and chief medical officer at BrightView Health in Cincinnati, where he guides patients through treatment. We also speak with a nurse in Minnesota who struggled with a substance use disorder and is now on the other side of addiction. To learn more, visit pewtrusts.org/afterthefact.

Opioid use disorder is a complex brain disease, but it is often still viewed as a moral failing. This stigma can keep people from accessing care for their disease, including medication-assisted treatment (MAT), which combines Food and Drug Administration-approved medications with behavioral therapies. Watch how MAT can help people manage their disease, a critical step in reducing the risk of overdose and improving health.

More than 2 million Americans struggle with opioid use disorder (OUD), a chronic relapsing medical condition, but access to medication-assisted treatment remains limited. Buprenorphine helps alleviate painful symptoms associated with the disorder. But few clinicians prescribe the drug.