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Abstract

If we are fighting a war on drugs, we are currently losing. Last year in the United States, we suffered over 100,000 deaths from drug overdose (about 65% related to synthetic opioids) and another 100,000 deaths from excessive alcohol drinking [1]. The death toll represents a significant increase from previous years. If we were fighting a conventional war and seeing 200,000 casualties each year, any prudent leader would realize this is unsustainable, and a different approach is needed. Many of these deaths and other significant medical, social, and psychiatric morbidities could be prevented using evidence-based treatments. Yet sadly, in the United States, only 25% of people with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) receive one of the three FDA-approved