About the lecture

In this lecture we think about the United States’ opiate crisis, focusing in particular on: (i) the fact that over one hundred and six thousand people in the United States died from drug overdoses in 2021; (ii) differentiating between dependence and addiction, the former being when you ‘need’ the drug, often to cancel out the negative effects of an ailment, and the latter being when you don’t need it but do want it; (iii) some contentious issues around the promotion of drugs, based on the type of drug and demographic of its promoter; (iv) the shortage of addiction rehabilitation centres in the United States.

About the lecturer

Dr Dean Burnett is a neuroscientist, author and honorary research associate in the Centre for Medical Education at Cardiff University. Dr Burnett’s research interests are in neuroscience, science communication and psychology. Some of Dr Burnett’s recent books include Psycho-Logical (2019) and Why Your Parents Are Driving You Up The Wall And What To Do About It (2019).