Greg Walden

Combatting the Crisis of Opioids

Sabrina Spitaletta, Alan M. Muney, Joe Smyser, Nora Volkow, Greg Walden, James A. Winnefeld, Jr.

The opioid crisis, driven by initial clinical overconfidence and evolving through three waves of pharmaceuticals, heroin, and synthetic fentanyls, has caused fatalities to surge from hundreds to 20,000 annually. Admiral Winnefeld and legislative bodies are responding with a seven-line strategic framework that prioritizes treating addiction as a chronic disease through prevention, expanded access to Medication-Assisted Treatment, and federal investigations into pharmaceutical diversion in states like West Virginia. Industry stakeholders and policymakers are simultaneously shifting from punitive measures to public health models by updating prescription monitoring laws, integrating telemedicine, and adopting language that reduces stigma to improve treatment outcomes.