Opioid epidemic shares chilling similarities with the past

FILE – This July 19, 2001 file photo shows OxyContin tablets at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt. OxyContin, which like heroin and morphine before it, was meant to be a safer and more effective opioid. OxyContin and competitor drugs were designed to release the medication slowly over long periods of time, making them and supposedly safe and effective enough to use for months to treat chronic pain. But patients found themselves hooked and wanting more, and drug abusers found they could crush the tablets and snort or inject them, delivering the drug to the bloodstream much more quickly. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)