VA Practices of Prescribing Veterans Painkillers Causing More Harm than Good?

With prescription painkiller addictions and overdoses on the rise among veterans, is the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs over-prescribing veterans painkillers? According to the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR), the number of opiates (such as hydrocodone, oxycodone, methadone and morphine) prescribed to veterans has risen by 270 percent in the past twelve years. This has left many worried that VA practices of prescribing veterans painkillers is not only ineffective but dangerous.