The opioid crisis in America – Prevention, treatment and regulation

As the United States and the world reel from COVID-19, another epidemic, opioid addiction, continues to ravage the U.S. The opioid epidemic has cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans, generated vast national economic and social costs, and exposed the critical weaknesses and limitations of U.S. drug policy.

To harness the lessons learned and provide policymakers with a wide range of policy options and recommendations, experts from Brookings and beyond have undertaken a multidisciplinary effort — in the forthcoming series “The opioid crisis in America: Domestic and international dimensions” — to develop new insights and best practices for policy stakeholders working at the local, state, and federal levels, as well as members of the public who are on the front lines of the opioid crisis. The project has analyzed and assessed a broad range of the opioid epidemic dimensions.

On June 22 from 1:00 to 2:30 pm EDT, in the first of two webinars, the Brookings Institution will release the project’s findings on prevention, treatment, and regulation of the opioid crisis. Brookings President John R. Allen will introduce the project and event. Representative David Trone, D-M.D., will provide keynote remarks and join Brookings Senior Fellow Vanda Felbab-Brown in a conversation. Subsequently, NPR correspondent Brian Mann will moderate a panel of experts from the Brookings Opioid Project: Carol Graham, Jonathan Caulkins, Beau Kilmer, and Rosalie Liccardo Pacula. The panel will then take questions from the audience.

Full recording available here.