• Introduction:
  • Introduce the topic of the opiate epidemic and the role that doctors have played in it.
  • Provide some statistics on the number of people who are addicted to opioids and the number of deaths that have been caused by opioid overdoses.
  • Argue that doctors are partly responsible for the opiate epidemic because they have been too quick to prescribe opioids for pain relief.
• Body:
  • Discuss the history of the opioid epidemic and how it began with doctors overprescribing opioids.
  • Explain how the pharmaceutical industry has influenced doctors to prescribe more opioids.
  • Discuss the role that social media has played in the spread of the opiate epidemic.
  • Argue that doctors need to be more careful about prescribing opioids and that they need to be better educated about the risks of addiction.
• Conclusion:
  • Restate the thesis statement and summarize the main points of the argument.
  • Call for action to address the opiate epidemic and to hold doctors accountable for their role in it.

Here are some additional points that could be included in the outline:

• The Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma, have been accused of misleading doctors about the risks of OxyContin and of aggressively marketing the drug to doctors.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued guidelines for doctors on how to prescribe opioids more safely.
• Some states have passed laws that limit the number of opioids that doctors can prescribe.
• There is a growing movement to hold doctors accountable for their role in the opiate epidemic.

The opiate epidemic is a complex issue with no easy solutions. However, it is clear that doctors have played a role in the crisis and that they need to be more careful about prescribing opioids. By holding doctors accountable and by educating them about the risks of addiction, we can begin to address the opiate epidemic and save lives.