The growing addiction, abuse, and overdose of opioids in the United States are some of the main concerns among the federal agencies involved in safeguarding public health. Every day, more than 130 people die of opioids abuse across the country, and such a figure mirrors a national crisis that affects public health as well as social and economic welfare (Opioid overdose crisis, 2019). This paper will deepen some aspects of the widespread misuse of opioid pain medications, an epidemic which is burdening the nation with a sizable death rate and huge social expenditures.
The addiction and abuse of opioid pain relievers (OPR) has become a serious problem in the United States. Since the late 1990s, OPR have been spreading across the country with limited control, in the conviction that patients treated with them would not have become addicted (Opioid overdose crisis, 2019). However, diversion and misuse led to an overall over-prescribing, creating a drug overdose scenario so dramatic that the White House was pushed to declare the opioid epidemics as a national emergency on October 26, 2017 (Presidential memorandum for the heads of executive departments and agencies, 2017).
In just fifteen years, the percentage of OPR use in the United States has dramatically rocketed. Consumption of such semi-synthetic opioid medications as hydrocodone and oxycodone has increased exponentially (Kolodny et al., 2015). The phenomenon has reached alarming proportions, affecting the public health status and weighing upon the health expenditure consistently. In 2017, almost 50,000 people died of opioids overdose, while about 1.7 million Americans suffered from OPR use disorders and more than 650.000 from heroin use disorder (Opioid overdose crisis, 2019). Inevitably, such figures affect the global economy of the country, involving not only the cost of health care, but also addiction treatments, lost productivity, and criminal justice procedures.
The White House initiative represents a critical stance toward the reduction of OPR abuse and OPR-related deaths, giving strength to a series of policies developed over the last decade to re-frame the opioid addiction. Thorough research has made it clear that OPR abuse is not just a juvenile problem but an epidemic of addiction that involves society at every level and age (Kolodny et al., 2015). However, despite all the efforts, opioids abuse is still on the rise.
To respond to the opioid crisis effectively, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, other federal agencies involved, and healthcare providers need to focus on clearly defined objectives. Firstly, a massive information campaign should make people aware of the risks of OPR abuse, highlighting that their consumption is as dangerous and addictive as the consumption of heroin. Secondly, healthcare policymakers should support research on pain and addiction, as well as promote the use of remedies such as buprenorphine and methadone to treat opioid addiction (Kolodny et al., 2015). Finally, the epidemics should be controlled through improved public health surveillance.
At the turn of the millennium, an overly simplistic approach to opioid pain medications has led to a dramatic epidemic of OPR addiction, resulting in large death rates related to abuse and overdose of opioids. Scientific and social research has uncovered the importance of the problem, emphasizing how it burdens the U.S. expenditures from many perspectives.
Over the last decade, the scientific community and politicians have called for strong actions to inform, prevent, and limit the incidence of opioid abuse, yet without attaining satisfactory outcomes. Indeed, the recent stance of the White House gives weight and authority to strike against opioids abuse, paving the way to further research and policies.
References
Kolodny, A., Courtwright, D. T., Hwang, C. S., Kreiner,P., Eadie,J. L., Clark, T. W., & Alexander, G. C. (2015). The prescription opioid and heroin crisis: A public health approach to an epidemic of addiction. Annual Review of Public Health, 36, 559-574. Web.
Opioid overdose crisis (2019). Web.
Presidential memorandum for the heads of executive departments and agencies (2017). Web.