Opinion: A Road Map to Combating Overdose Deaths

Misunderstandings about drug use and addiction run rampant, undermining the ability to reverse soaring overdose fatalities — a number that has quadrupled in the last decade and broke records in the last year. I realize it’s not uncommon for public perception to be shaped by mythology, and that mistruths surround other important issues. Yet this humanitarian crisis — claiming the lives of 200 Marylanders per month and as many per day nationally — is distinguished by the massive gap between research and practice.