2021: Making COVID-caused changes permanent,for better or worse

What started in 2020 — COVID-19 — continued with a vengeance in 2021, but last year, some of the changes put into place due to the virus became permanent, at least for now. These included relaxations of the rules regarding buprenorphine and methadone, far greater use of telemedicine and other less sanguine changes, such as to-go alcohol. In the meantime, opioid overdoses continued to go up, this time with the addition of methamphetamine and cocaine.