— By Lynn Webster MD Even as doctors have slashed opioid prescriptions, opioid use and overdose have not gone away. They have changed form, from diverted pills to heroin, illicit fentanyl, and polysubstance use. That shift should force us to ask a hard question: why did demand persist when the legal supply of prescription opioids…
Lynn Webster MD
About Lynn Webster MD
Lynn R. Webster, M.D. is one of the world’s leading authorities on pain management, addiction medicine, and the complex interplay between public policy, misinformation, and human suffering. Board-certified in Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine and Addiction Medicine, and past president of the American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM), he is the author of The Painful Truth: What Chronic Pain Is Really Like and Why It Matters to Each of Us and co-producer of the video documentary, "The Painful Truth," which has aired on Public Broadcasting stations throughout the United States. He is co-author of the new book Deconstructing Toxic Narratives: Data, Disparities, and a New Path Forward in the Opioid Crisis (May 28, 2026). Learn more at lynnwebstermd.com