#OurPain: The other side of opioids LasVegasNOW KLAS TV8 w Tennant folo

LAS VEGAS - Nightly newscasts across the country are filled with stories about the opioid epidemic -- the opioid crisis. Tens of thousands of Americans who die each year are found with opioids in their systems, and so government at every level has stepped in to put limits on otherwise legal medications, including here in Nevada. For millions of chronic pain patients, the crackdown has been a nightmare. They are the forgotten victims in the opioid debate. Approximately 50,000 people a year die with opioids of one kind or another in their systems. The number you don't hear is this one -- there are as many as 25 million Americans who suffer with chronic pain. For many of them, opioid medication means the difference between leading somewhat normal lives, or surviving in constant agony. These are not the people who O.D. on heroin or mix drugs with booze. For the most part, they suffer and die in silence.