Opioid & Opiate Addiction The meteoric rise in deaths from heroin overdoses and prescription opioid overdoses since 2019 has made opioid addiction the focus of lots of attention. In 2020, synthetic opioid overdoses increased by more than 54% compared to the previous year. With all the talk about an opioid addiction epidemic, it is important to understand the difference between opiates and opioids – although they are occasionally (incorrectly) used interchangeably. https://goo.gl/maps/Geboqv5SgnoxBps76