ST. LOUIS — Opioid addiction in the United States has caused a spike in deaths related to the prescribed medications, but opioid painkillers are one of the top gateway drugs to harder drugs like heroin. St. Louis and many other cities in the United States have seen a spike in heroin cases.
The U.S. recently instituted much stricter guidelines for prescribing opioids, so millions and millions of chronic sufferers will find themselves without the medication soon. That will leave a hole for these patients who will need treatment for their chronic pain.
Eric Nepute, the chiropractor who runs Nepute Wellness in St. Louis, just returned from a conference in California and has new numbers and information on Opioids. Nepute says there was a 16% increase in opioid deaths in 2014 alone. He says chiropractors and other alternative practitioners of pain therapy will have to fill the gap left by the new opioid restrictions.
Nepute talked to The Allman Report Monday about the facts and figures.