There's a science-backed treatment for drug addiction that works — but it's nearly impossible to get

AP Photo/Kevin D. Liles

• The death toll from the opioids epidemic continues to soar.
• Experts say we already have a science-backed treatment that works: medication-assisted treatment, or MAT.
• The problem, however, is that very few people can get it.

The death toll from the opioids epidemic continues to soar — nearly 64,000 people died in 2016 alone. Scientists are working to find creative tools to fight it, and President Donald Trump has called the overdose crisis a public health emergency.