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I recently experienced a shoulder injury. No, I wasn’t pumping iron, again (jokey-joke). But, when I went to see my physician-specialist, he made three recommendations. The first was an offer of a prescription for opioid painkillers.  Well, as an addictions specialist, that was not an option for me.

Statistics tell us that that scenario is all too common. A clear one third of Americans have received an opioid painkiller prescription.  It is not “fake news.” The opioid crisis is real. In fact, the numbers suggest that 20% of all people who receive a 10-day opioid prescription, become long-term users.  

That long-term use eventually takes its toll on the individual, his or her family, the community, the workplace and co-workers, and the workforce.  We have heard in recent weeks, that the country’s rate of unemployment is down, to 4% and below.

Handgun made of pills

Source: Dwight Eschliman / Getty

The low unemployment rate is not solely, if at all, due to economic policies. It is so low because workers are unavailable due to being strung out on drugs. Drug addiction up = labor pool down. At least that is what the National Bureau of Economic Research claims in their publication, “Work.” The U.S. News and World Report has the complete story. Read more.