Over the past 10 years, the opioid crisis in America has deepened. Now, more than ever, an increasing amount of Americans have become increasingly dependent upon opioid-based pain medication to help them get through the day. In fact, in 2013 there were ~207 million opioid-based medications prescribed in the United States; that's over half of the population of the U.S. The campaign against opioids, led by New York Senator Charles Schumer and New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen, has started to gain traction within the Senate, especially among their Democratic partners. Earlier in the month of February, President Obama motioned for 1.1 billion dollars in 2017 budget for the fight against opioid addiction. With these funds, the President hopes to expand the network of prescription monitoring, preventative education, rehabilitation as well as the distribution of naloxone (a drug used to combat the effects of overdose).
This is not the first drug crisis we have faced here in the United States. However, it is rather unique when compared to the crack epidemic of the 1980s. Crack addiction, at that time, was a widely lower class hobby, especially among poor African-American communities where crime was rampant. In stark contrast however, today's crisis, as explained by Michael Botticelli, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, is, “of people affected are more white, more middle class, these are parents who are empowered.” Because opioids medication is a prescription type drug, it is relatively acceptable among wealthier families and has an increased potential for unknowing abuse Additionally, the way the addiction epidemic is being handled today is starkly different. In the past, addiction was thought of as a moral downfall, punishable by increasing police forces and jail times. But today, it is stressed that addiction is not a moral downfall, but a psychological disorder that can be cured through rehabilitation.
What do you think? Should Congress get the money? Is this a national concern? Is addiction a disorder or moral downfall - how should the country go about this?
http://www.fda.gov/ucm/groups/fdagov-public/documents/image/ucm251737.jpg
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2016/2/11/democratic-senators-call-on-passage-of-emergency-funding-for-opioid-crisis.html
https://www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/legislative-activities/testimony-to-congress/2015/americas-addiction-to-opioids-heroin-prescription-drug-abuse
7 comments:
Substance addiction is definitely a psychological health issue, but it can be caused by a series of poor moral choices. Nevertheless, with this crisis on the rise, it is seemingly critical that Congress does get this money so that the proper steps can be made towards fighting this overwhelming rate of opioid addiction. What worsens the problem is the fact that doctors all over the nation overprescribing pharmaceutical drugs, causing people to get hooked on drugs that they don't even need all because their physician is all to happy to classify them as "sick" and write them another prescription. If law enforcement is able to crack down on these "drug dealers in white coats" then we will be taking a critical step towards ending this crisis.
http://www.hhnmag.com/articles/5259-stopping-dr-feelgood-the-challenge-of-overprescribing
I absolutely believe that addiction is a disorder, rather than a downfall. It is psychological, but it's also social and physical. As such, rehabilitation is far more important than punishment. Punishing someone for being listless when they have depression (another stigmatized disease) doesn't make them any less depressed, just as it doesn't make opioid addicts any less addicted. Punishment is a rather ineffective band-aid that we have applied to the issue of addiction for years now rather than face the problem head on. Because addiction is, unlike illnesses like chicken pox or depression, either chosen by a person or prescribed by their doctor, the real issue lies in how a person became addicted. For drugs other than prescription pills, the problem is often rooted in socioeconomic strife, which in and of itself is a daunting task to handle. Opioid addiction, though, is slightly more manageable. It comes from the over-prescribing of addictive drugs. Luckily, because this process begins legally and fairly transparently, it is more treatable than the socioeconomic causes of drug addiction. Our government has a responsibility and the means to curb addiction to prescription drugs, just as Schumer and Shaheen are trying to do. As such, I hope they are successful in their campaign against opioids and believe that their attempts deserve credit, money, and support. Addiction can affect any of us and is a disease that has been treated incorrectly for all of the time that we have been dealing with it.
Congress should most definitely get the money to expand the network or prescription monitoring, preventative education, and rehabilitation. Addiction should be treated as a mental disorder and focus on rehabilitating patients rather than punishing them. I agree with maybesarah in that addiction is psychological, but also social and physical, rendering punishment ineffective. Not only that, but drug addiction is definitely a national concern. Nationally, drug overdoses now account for more deaths in the U.S. than motor vehicle accidents, with 52% attributed to prescription medications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Drug abuse has even become an economic problem for states and the private sector. Substance abuse led to an estimated $176 million in workplace productivity losses in New Hampshire, according to a 2012 report. In rural parts of Virginia, employers are unable to find enough workers who can pass drug tests, said Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine.
Drug death has even become a critical election issue which was mostly brought to attention by the alarming increase in overdoses in New Hampshire—overdoses are on track to break last year’s record of 326 deaths. In fact, some of the candidates have been personally affected by drug abuse. Jeb Bush’s daughter, Noelle, was arrested for trying to illegally buy prescription drugs and attended mandatory drug treatment. “It is the most heartbreaking thing in the world to have to go through,” Bush said about the matter. In addition, both Hillary and Bill Clinton spoke emotionally about the prescription pill-related death of a young intern in 2012. It’s saddening to see how many have fallen into the cycle of addiction, but it’s good to finally know that steps are being taken to deal with this problem before it worsens.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/drug-deaths-becoming-a-2016-presidential-election-issue-1446596075
I think the science has proven that addiction is a medical concern, not a criminal one, and the largely unsuccessful War on Drugs (TM) has proven that treating addiction and minor drug offenses as a criminal matter only fills our prisons and does nothing to decrease drug usage.
To posit that addiction is a moral failure is to ignore to completely ignore the science behind the condition. Withdrawal kills. These afflicted people are suffering from a disease. No amount of bootstrap-pulling can cure what ails them.
It is absolutely a national concern. Overdose deaths are at an all-time high in this country. Overdoses killed more Americans in 2014 than car accidents, with heroin and opioids being the main culprit. How are we not more concerned about this?
Addiction is one of the great threats facing this country and it should receive the full funding and national attention it deserves.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/dec/19/fatal-drug-overdoses-hit-record-high-in-us-government-figures-show
I agree with the above commenters that it is Congress's responsibility to deal with the opioid epidemic in America today. President Obama's $1.1 billion includes "$920 million to support cooperative agreements with States to expand access to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorders, $50 million in National Health Service Corps funding to expand access to substance use treatment providers, $30 million to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment programs employing medication-assisted treatment under real-world conditions and help identify opportunities to improve treatment for patients with opioid use disorders, and $500 million to continue and build on current efforts across the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Health and Human Services (HHS)." While this seems like a hefty price tag, this is an important investment for the country's future.
Congress must take this issue into their own hands due to the immense power of "Big Pharma." This power was seen in a Super Bowl commercial seen by 111 million viewers. The commercial was for a drug to help opioid users who suffer from irregularity. Dr. Andrew Kolodny, executive director of Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing spoke about the commercial, saying "It's normalizing the chronic use of opioids, which aren't demonstrated to be safe over the long term." Other politicians spoke out including White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, tweeting "Next year, how about fewer ads that fuel opioid addiction and more on access to treatment." Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin accused "Big Pharma" of exploiting a crisis for profit.
As Rubytuesday said, addiction is an epidemic in our nation and it is time for the government to serve its people.
Sources:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/02/02/president-obama-proposes-11-billion-new-funding-address-prescription
http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/11/news/super-bowl-painkiller-constipation-ad/
I really liked your comments, Pash. The picture of a heroin addict with a needle in his arm, sitting under a bridge, has changed since the 1970s when the opioid epidemic first struck. Now, more than half of users are women, and 90% are white. The drug has crept into the suburbs and the middle classes.
I think it's also important to realize that as more people are introduced to prescription opioids, the number who are vulnerable to heroin addiction will rise. Rehab services are generally only available to the rich.
I agree with the Obama administration that addiction is a mental disease and not a moral failing, although we should still stress that it is a result of poor choices. However, with more Good Samaritan 911 laws and increased availability of overdose antidotes, public support the fight against opioids is aided by the changing image of the drug as more than a vice of the downtrodden.
Source: http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21633819-old-sickness-has-returned-haunt-new-generation-great-american-relapse
I strongly believe that the opioid crisis is a national concern. As WillyB emphasized in his comment, the more people who are introduced to prescription opioids, the number who are vulnerable to heroin addiction will rise, which will only cause more problems with drugs and addiction throughout our nation. Furthermore, drugs are a serious problem and major cause of death. Between 2000 and 2014, American rates of death from opioid overdose have tripled from three deaths per 100,000 people to nine per 100,000. As Daniel J. McGraw reported for Pacific Standard in November, the crisis is largely a product of loosening prescribing guidelines for pain medication, along with effective marketing campaigns by pharmaceutical companies. However, that doesn’t mean the solution is easy or obvious.The question of how to balance the need to help suffering patients against the threat of addiction has troubled the medical field for years. Doctors and public policymakers must determine how to get addicts into treatment that’s effective and how to stop the prescribing problems that got us into the situation to begin with.
Source: http://www.wsj.com/articles/drug-deaths-becoming-a-2016-presidential-election-issue-1446596075http://www.psmag.com/health-and-behavior/understanding-americas-opioid-crisis
Post a Comment