Many issues with this framing. First i dont know any serious opioid researchers that state opioid reductions have caused an "epidemic of suicides". Second what recent studies have stated is that rapid reductions via opioid tapering can cause ⬆️ risk of adverse events including suicide. Third this study discusses declines in opioid prescribing but did they disaggregate the data to differentiate declines that were very rapid vs slow etc. 4th this is a retrospective study so you cant show causality.