In the late 1990s, pharmaceutical companies reassured the medical community that patients would not become addicted to opioid pain relievers and healthcare providers began to prescribe them at greater rates. Increased prescription of opioid medications led to widespread misuse of both prescription and non-prescription opioids before it became clear that these medications could indeed be highly addictive.
In 2017 HHS declared a public health emergency and announced a 5-Point Strategy To Combat the Opioid Crisis.

The term “opioids” includes compounds that are extracted from the poppy seed as well as semi-synthetic and synthetic compounds with similar properties that can interact with opioid receptors in the brain. Opioids have analgesic and sedative effects and are commonly used for the management of pain. Due to their pharmacological effects, they can cause difficulties with breathing, and opioid overdose can lead to death.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 108,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021. WHO enumerates these ways of preventing the overdose of opioids -
-Increasing the availability of opioid dependence treatment, including for
-Those dependent on prescription opioids;
-Reducing and preventing irrational or inappropriate opioid prescribing;
-Monitoring opioid prescribing and dispensing; and
-Limiting inappropriate over-the-counter sales of opioids.