An article on the origins of today’s opioid epidemic featured commentary from Richard D. Blondell, MD, professor emeritus of
family medicine. Blondell said that the federal agencies responsible for regulation were asleep at the wheel. “The expectation was that you’re going to get these drugs from a doctor, so drug companies were pushing it, doctors were writing (prescriptions), patients were demanding it, pharmaceutical companies were selling it, and it’s all financed by health insurance,” Blondell said.
