The Opioid Epidemic ― What Everyone Needs to Know

The opioid epidemic is responsible for longest sustained decline in U.S. life expectancy since the time of World War I and the Great Influenza. In 2017, nearly 50,000 Americans died from an opioid overdose - with an estimated 2 million more living with opioid addiction every day.

The Opioid Epidemic: What Everyone Needs to Know® is an accessible, nonpartisan overview of the causes, politics, and treatments tied to the most devastating health crisis of our time. Its comprehensive approach and Q&A format offer readers a practical path to understanding the epidemic from all sides: the basic science of opioids; the nature of addiction; the underlying reasons for the opioid epidemic; effective approaches to helping individuals, families, communities, and national policy; and common myths related to opioid addiction.

Written by two expert physicians and enriched with stories from their experiences the crosshairs of this epidemic, this book is a critical resource for any general reader -- and for the individuals and families fighting this fight in their own lives.

Yngvild Olsen, MD, MPH, is Medical Director of the Institutes for Behavior Resources, Inc., a comprehensive addiction treatment center in Baltimore City. She is the current Vice President and former Chair for Public Policy of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. Olsen consults with governments and healthcare organizations on implementing evidence-based clinical care programs for opioid use disorder. In addition to caring for patients with complex substance use disorders and other medical conditions, she has written and lectured extensively on the opioid epidemic.

Joshua M. Sharfstein, MD, is Vice Dean for Public Health Practice and Community Engagement and Professor of the Practice in Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He previously served as the Health Commissioner of Baltimore City, the Principal Deputy Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the Health Secretary of the State of Maryland.