title: The Opioid Epidemic in the United States.
abstract: There is an epidemic of opioid abuse. This article discusses the history of opioid use. Abusers of opioids are at great risk of harm. There have been increasing legislative efforts to curb this abuse and we present a review of the current state of these laws. Naloxone has made a profound impact in the care of these patients if they present for medical care early enough. This paper discusses naloxone pharmacodynamics, its use in the medical setting, and how its use is now being expanded to include nontraditional providers with take home naloxone programs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 110 South Paca Street, 6th Floor, Suite 200, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA. Electronic address: gwilkerson@em.umaryland.edu.
authors.forename: Richard Gentry
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Wilkerson
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 110 South Paca Street, 6th Floor, Suite 200, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
authors.forename: Hong K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 110 South Paca Street, 6th Floor, Suite 200, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas Andrew
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Windsor
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 110 South Paca Street, 6th Floor, Suite 200, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
authors.forename: Darren P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Mareiniss
mesh_terms: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy; D063487:Prescription Drug Misuse; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid
keywords: Heroin; Legal liability; Opioid epidemic; Opioids; Overdose; Prescription drugs