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.

Individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) struggle to get effective care: Of 2 million Americans with the illness, only 26% receive treatment. Now, as the coronavirus pandemic presents an added strain on the U.S. health care system, it is creating greater hardships for those seeking OUD treatment.

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.