Fight opioid crisis with recommended drug

We can’t immediately solve the opioid health crisis, but we can prevent unintentional loss of life by providing naloxone to those at risk of opioid overdose, in line with the recommendations of the U.S. surgeon general. Naloxone rapidly reverses opioid overdoses and can saves lives. The fact that more people are dying of accidental overdose than from car accidents indicates that more outreach is urgently needed.

The financial cost of opioid abuse is in the billions, not to mention the emotional, physical and personal costs to users and their loved ones. As a patient safety leader for many years, I would add that it’s also critical that opioids are prescribed safely in the first instance — even if it means physicians changing their practice patterns and navigating difficult conversations. More support and guidance is needed on this front. Kerin Torpey Bashaw Senior vice president The Doctors Company

Napa, Calif.

I think that as long as big pharmaceutical lobbyists have the ears of our politicians, and are donating to their campaigns, little will change to address the opioid crisis. Martin Burs

People seem to forget in this opioid addiction crisis that for some people, opioids are the only thing that keeps chronic pain from destroying their lives. A lot of us take them, are very responsible and do not abuse them. Politicians should be inclusive and precise when they’re making policies. They shouldn’t punish the people who have to take opioids. Ken Boland

Until these opioid manufacturers and distributors are heavily regulated, all the statistics of death in the world are not going to solve the problem. Paul Bryant