Adams, an anesthesiologist by training, said he had been "part of the problem" — that he went to medical school when pharmaceutical representatives were pushing the false claim that opioids were not addictive, as long as they were being used to treat pain. And he knows firsthand the toll the opioid crisis has taken on families around the country: His younger brother is serving a 10-year state prison sentence for stealing $200 while in the throes of an opioid addiction, Adams said.