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Opioid Crisis in the United States

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Opioid Crisis in the United States

Misuse of opioids is one of the biggest problems to the U.S. public health system. Various government and independent studies show that that opioid abuse overdose kills more people bellow the age of fifty than motor accidents and firearms. Although the crisis is a national concern, certain regions are more affected than the rest of the United States. For instance, data collected between 2012 and 2016 show that West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky, in total, realized 18,000 deaths associated with opioid overdose (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018) while number of deaths in the entire country rose to a record 72,000 in 2017.

While the danger of opioid overdose is clear, the cause of the crisis remains unclear since there is yet no consensus on the single most dominant contributor to misuse of opioids. However, the current biggest factor associated with a surge in widespread misuse of opioid relates to a sharp rise in opioid prescription (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). In addition, rise in illegal distribution of fentanyl along with increase in smuggling of heroin from Mexico have escalated opioid crisis in recent times. With increased prescription of opioids, controlling illegal sale of opioids is a challenge. In fact, some experts connect the rise in opioid abuse to increase in prescriptions, which is the root cause of increase abuse of opioids and heroin. As such, physicians are largely to blame emergence of opioid crisis since surge in prescription creates space for illegal opioid business to thrive.

Further, the role of pharmaceutical industry in escalating misuse of opioids cannot be overstated. Increased access to opioids is associated with inability of manufacturers and suppliers of drugs to protect their supply chain activities effectively. This leaves room for such drugs to reach black market thereby making them more accessible for use without prescription. Overall, increase in prescription, poor keeping of inventories by suppliers of pharmaceutical products, and unethical selling of drugs have led to increase in demand of opioids and heroin Americans under the age of fifty.

In as much as opioid crisis remains at a worrying level, the government through public health agencies are making efforts to reduce the prevalence of the opioid related health problems by implementing standards aimed at making health professionals more involved in combating the problem (Gellad, Good, & Shulkin, 2018). Doctors are now required not to prescribe opioid to be used for over three days. Additionally, physicians, nurses and pharmacists encouraged to prescribe painkillers such as Ibuprofen more than opioids like oxycodone and morphine for pain management.

The biggest concern with regard to misuse of opioids is its physical social, biological and environmental health factors. Since opioid epidemic mainly affects the most socially and academically productive population, it disrupts various American social systems, and solving the problem puts serious pressure on the American health system financially and in terms of human resources. Opioid dependence subjects’ users to violence, legal troubles, poor health, poor performance at work and at school and social apathy. It is also raises mortality rate among the young and a section of middle age population. in general, opioid epidemic is a serious health concern given it reduces healthiness level in the affected population due to increase in the prevalence of opioid disorder.

As a measure to alleviate opioid epidemic, the U.S. Department of State has adopted a policy aimed at stopping smuggling of illicit opioids from foreign countries into the United States (U.S. Department of State, 2008). The outcome of this effort is that the number of opioid and heroin related deaths have significantly reduced in 2017 and 2018.

References

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2018). “Opioid data analysis and resources”. Retrieved 31 January 2019 https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/analysis.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC. (2012). CDC grand rounds: prescription drug overdoses-a US epidemic. MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report, 61(1), 10.

Gellad, W. F., Good, C. B., & Shulkin, D. J. (2018). Addressing the opioid epidemic in the United States. JAMA, 177(5), 611-612.

U.S. Department of State (2008). “Addressing the opioid crisis”: Retrieved 31 January 2019 https://www.state.gov/j/inl/opioid/index.htm