Prescription opioid shipments declined sharply even as fatal overdoses increased, new data shows
Associated PressThe number of prescription opioid pills shipped in the U.S. in the second half of the 2010s decreased sharply even as a nationwide overdose crisis continued to deepen, according to data released Tuesday. “We are still at an epidemic proportion of pills,” Peter Mougey, a lawyer representing governments that are suing drugmakers, distribution companies and pharmacies, said in an online news conference to release the data Tuesday. But Mougey pointed out that as prescription drug shipments decreased, illicit opioids — particularly heroin and illegally produced versions of fentanyl — increased. The first public release of data four years ago was more dramatic, showing how the prescribing and shipping of powerful prescription opioid painkillers increased through the late 2000s and early 2010s.