By now, we have all heard on the news about the opioid epidemic and how it’s become a national crisis. What you don’t know is that anyone can become a victim. It’s not just the poor and rural areas of the country. It’s places like New York City, Northern California, and Chicago that are seeing a surge in opioid overdoses.
What usually starts out as a routine visit to the doctor for a sore back or pulled muscle can spiral into an addiction to pain pills and heroin. This is not to say that all doctors are corrupt. There are a lot of good ones out there who want to help the patient get better.
Even pharmaceutical companies are cracking down on the overuse and abuse of prescription pain pills like Oxycodone and OxyContin. One giant just announced they would only dispense 10 days of pain pills at a time in an effort to prevent abuse. Pill mills and corrupt doctors are the ones fueling the epidemic. By overprescribing powerful pain meds, they are only making it harder for people to get help.
According to People Magazine, heroin and other opioids are claiming lives throughout the U.S. at a staggering rate. According to the Centers for Disease Control, drug overdoses now kill more
Americans than either guns or car accidents: 52,000 in 2015 alone, the most recent year for which statistics are available.
One person dies of an overdose every 10 minutes.
The vast majority of those deaths, approximately 80 percent, have taken place in white communities. Experts suggest this is in part because white Americans generally have better access to health care
and are more likely to be prescribed narcotics, and research shows that four in five heroin users first abused prescription pills.
People become addicted to drugs such as OxyContin, Percocet and Vicodin while being treated for a medical condition and then seek out more pills — or heroin — on the street when their prescription
runs out.
The problem starts in the medicine cabinet. By locking up these powerful drugs and arresting those who intentionally distribute pain pills on the streets, we can take a step in the right direction.
If you or someone you know is having problems with prescription pain medicine, do not hesitate to seek out help. There are several non-profit and government agencies dedicated to helping a person recover and stay clean.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 800-662-4357: An agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, it offers referrals to treatment programs around the country.
ihateheroin.org: This Iowa-based nonprofit provides info and nationwide support for recovery assistance.
learn2cope.org: A support network for families dealing with addiction.
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