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Drugs used to treat alcohol use disorder have been on the market for decades but are rarely prescribed. Krit of Studio OMG/Moment via Getty Images

Alcohol use disorder can be treated with an array of medications – but few people have heard of them

Alcohol is responsible for more deaths than overdoses from opioids and all other substances combined, yet less than 10% of people with alcohol use disorder receive treatment.
A nurse dispenses liquid Methadose, an FDA-approved medication that helps people addicted to opioids. Whitney Hayward/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images

Myths about will power and moral weakness keep people with opioid use disorder from receiving effective medications like methadone, buprenorphine and naltrexone

Prescription medications can help people with opioid use disorder avoid the risks of relapse and overdose. But stigma based on misperceptions about addiction limits their use.
Methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine distributed by the Drug User Liberation Front, a grassroots organization proving a safe supply of illicit drugs, in Vancouver, in April 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Safer supply of opioids saves lives: Providing alternatives to toxic street drugs

People are dying from using a toxic drug supply. Safer supply and other approaches that listen to the needs of people who use drugs are critical to saving lives and addressing the opioid crisis.
Every state bears the burden of the opioid crisis. Digital Deliverance/Shutterstock.com

Opioid epidemic may have cost states at least $130 billion in treatment and related expenses – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg

State governments are leading the charge against opioid makers over their role in the epidemic. A team of researchers at Penn State examined just how much the crisis has cost them.

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