The general consensus among researchers and experts is that the current widespread opioid problem is quite simply the worst drug epidemic in the history of the United States. Let that sink in. The WORST … EVER.

And, unfortunately, it’s hitting the homes of American military veterans even harder those of civilians. You see, 60 percent of vets returning from deployments in the Middle East and half of older vets suffer from chronic pain. This obviously needs to be addressed with something. If it’s not, suicide occurs. And if it is, opioids are often the solution of choice.

It’s a dicey solution, however, because bad regimens and abuse are running rampant, which in many cases ultimately lead to overdose and death.

This from PBS:

Until a few years ago, the VA was treating veterans’ chronic pain almost exclusively with prescriptions for opioid painkillers. Prescriptions for opiates spiked by 270 percent over 12 years, according to a 2013 analysis by the Center for Investigative Reporting, leading to addictions and a fatal overdose rate twice the national average.

The VA has taken some steps to address the problem. Since 2012, the height of the VA’s opioid prescribing, the department has reduced the number of veterans receiving opioids by 20 percent, and cut the overall opioid dosages for about 17,000 patients, the VA said. It has also begun screening more patients for depression and potential substance abuse problems, and coming up with more comprehensive approaches to chronic pain.  

But the number of veterans with opioid-use disorders continues to grow, spiking by 55 percent over the past five years, from 2010 to 2015. The most recent figure, 68,000 veterans, represents about 13 percent of the total population of veterans currently taking opioids, according to VA data.

That last statistic is particularly frightening.

That means that if you’re a veteran, and you get a prescription for opioid from a doctor, you have a more than 1 in 10 chance of being killed by that Rx.

Don’t take the script and you could be one of the 22 vets every day who commit suicide (one every 65 minutes).