Assigning Blame in the Opioid Crisis

Opioids in America: Signs and Symptoms of Malfeasance
Myths About Marijuana: Intoxicating But Untrue
Straight Dope on the Opioid Crisis
The Opioid Epidemic and Drug Legalization: Robert VerBruggen Replies to His Critics
In response to: What the Opioid Crisis Can Teach Us about the War on Drugs
My Liberty Forum essay contended that America’s experiment with easily available opioid painkillers was an indication of what might happen if we legalized drugs completely: a shocking and intolerable increase in overdose deaths. I suggested that, instead, we might push to A) focus the punitive aspects of the War on Drugs on dealers rather than users, as we already do to a large extent; and B) work to expand access to treatment, especially medications that satisfy users’ cravings.