Opioids

Minnesota saw a big drop in drug overdose deaths in 2018.

WJON's Award winning program "Health Matters" focused this week on opioids. The nation has dealt with what is being called an "Opioid Crisis" for the past few years. St. Cloud Doctor, Mike Massey from CentraCare described what opioids are, when doctors started prescribing them to patients and why doctros are pressured to not prescribe them as much now.

For the first time since World War One, life expectancy in the United States is on the decline and the CDC says the opioid epidemic is playing a large role.

Doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals came together Tuesday at the St. Cloud VA Medical Center to talk about how to improve the safe use of opioids.

State health officials say drug overdose deaths continued to rise in Minnesota last year.

In statehouses across the country, lawmakers with loved ones who fell victim to drugs are leading the fight against the nation's deadly opioid-abuse crisis, drawing on tragic personal experience to attack the problem.

Chief of Pharmacy for the St. Cloud V.A. Rick Stambaugh talked to me today during our Voices for Veterans segment. Rick discussed the problem that veterans have with pain killers and opioid addictions.