- While much of the media scrutiny and recent high profile lawsuits have highlighted how drug manufacturers allegedly fueled the epidemic, the ARCOS data is expected to clarify the role played by distributors and pharmacies.
"You'll be able to see the flow, the steady flow of pills — it's not a trickle, it's a tsunami," Farrell says.
"In my hometown of Huntington, W.Va., there are 24 CVS pharmacies within 40 miles of my house. From those 24 pharmacies, you'll be able to see that 80 million [opioid] pills were distributed [over a six year period]."
The population in that region of the Ohio River valley is roughly 100,000 people.
Even more people have lost any combination of their jobs or careers, homes, families, etc., as well as become stigmatized by society, entered the court system, etc. Honestly, I think it's hard to overstate the impact of this problem.More than 200,000 Americans have died from prescription opioid-related overdoses since the epidemic began in the 1990s, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.