Chemists in the last century also learned to create the drug on their own. During the 1990s, treating pain became a priority for medical providers, and drug makers produced and marketed a number of prescription opioids.
In the past few years, the problem exploded. Scroll through the timeline below to learn key dates and find out how even stronger drugs like fentanyl worsened the crisis and what Ohio and Dayton are doing to fight the opioid epidemic.
» RELATED: 2016 deadliest year for overdoses, fentanyl deaths more than double
» RELATED: No slowing of opioid epidemic: 5 alarming signs even more will die from overdoses this year
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