By Jason Evans

Staff Reporter

jevans@thepccourier.com

EASLEY — Although the nation is in the midst of an opioid overdose crisis, the painkillers themselves are not the problem, according to Dr. James Mahanes, medical affairs officer at AnMed Health Cannon.

“It’s the misuse,” he said. “We spend most of the time maligning opiates, but they do have a value, there’s no question about that. As a physician, morphine and dilaudid have been two of the most valuable drugs I’ve ever used in my practice of medicine.”

Mahanes was one of the speakers at a lunch and learn session sponsored by Behavioral Health Services of Pickens County last week in Easley

Mahanes presented a talk called “The Opioid Crisis: Past, Present and Future.”

The United States makes up about 4.6 percent of the world’s population, “but we use 80 percent of the global opioid supply,” Mahanes said.

“We use 99 percent of the global hydrocodone supply,” he said. “We have

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