PROP’s mission is to reduce opioid-related morbidity and mortality by promoting cautious and responsible prescribing practices. THE CRISIS The United States is in the midst of a severe epidemic of opioid addiction and overdose deaths. Opioid overdose deaths, once rare, have increased sharply over the past 25 years and recently surpassed car crashes as the leading cause of accidental death. Since 1999, more than 465,000 American lives were lost to opioid overdoses. The United States Centers for Disease Control has been clear about the cause of the crisis: overprescribing of opioids, especially for chronic non-cancer pain. Opioid prescribing began increasing sharply in the 1990s, largely in response to an industry-funded campaign that minimized opioid risks and exaggerated benefits. The increased prevalence of opioid addiction, caused by overexposing the U.S. population to prescription opioids, has also led to rising rates of heroin use in non-urban communities and other health and social problems.