Congratulations to both author Mark Bernstein ’83 and subject Elizabeth Ryan ’00 on a very balanced look at the opioid challenges facing the country (cover story, May 15). Unlike many media outlets’ efforts to simplify by focusing almost exclusively on “bad doctors” and “bad drug companies,” your piece gets at the deeper societal issues that underlie this “epidemic,” just as they have underlain previous experiences with different drugs. And it nicely debunks the notion that pills legitimately prescribed for pain, and taken as directed, lead straight to fentanyl-induced overdose deaths on the street. Keep up the good journalism, author; and keep up the compassionate care, subject!

Robert J. Saner II ’69
Chestertown, Md.