Mayo Clinic Minute: Prescription Opioid Misuse

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The opioid epidemic in the U.S. has lawmakers working on legislation to tackle the growing problem —  one the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says has quadrupled, in part, due to the misuse of prescription painkillers.

Mayo Clinic anesthesiologist Dr. W. Michael Hooten says prescription opioid overdoses take more lives than heroin. Reporter Vivien Williams explains in this Mayo Clinic Minute.

Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute

Journalists: Broadcast-quality video pkg (1:04) is in the downloads. Read the script.

Related posts:

• New Study: Overdose Deaths From Sedatives Have Surged (March 2, 2016)
• 1 in 4 People Prescribed Opioids Progressed to Longer-Term Prescriptions (July 1, 2015)

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