The opioid crisis in North America

Since 1999 more than 600,000 people in the USA and Canada have died from opioid overdose and a staggering 1.2 million more are estimated to die due to overdose by 2029. The Stanford-Lancet Commission on the North American Opioid Crisis analysed the state of the opioid crisis and proposed solutions to it domestically while attempting to stop its spread internationally. The Commission identifies where renewed commitment to reform and progress must be made, including regulation, healthcare and treatment, the criminal justice system, prevention, innovation to the opioid response, and curtailing the global spread of the epidemic.

Explore the key statistics below, and read the full Commission for more detail.