Addressing exigence and the rhetorical situation is essential for the policy intervention paper.  Exigence is very clear with a discussion about the opioid crisis as thousands and tens of thousands of people are dying within the United States each year.  This is also one of the leading causes of deaths in the country and therefore, it needs to be addressed immediately.  Intervention is necessary to reduce the risk of more people dying.  The rhetorical situation is also clear as many people throughout the country are calling for changes to big pharma.  Many big pharma companies are currently or have been brought to court over their improper distribution of opioids.

Audience is also important to consider when addressing this policy intervention.  The audience for this project is two-fold.  The first main audience is the citizens of the United States.  All citizens will want to read this policy intervention to not only learn more about the crisis but also enlighten themselves on a possible way this situation could be bettered.  The second audience that will want to read this policy intervention is the United States government.  The government is the ones who can institute the change and therefore listening to a possible way to deal with the situation could be beneficial.  Both audiences would benefit from reading this piece.