In the epic, The Odyssey, the author, Homer, used symbolism in the description of Odysseus’ bed. He had carved the bed from a tree. The tree’s roots went deep which produced a sturdy, healthy, and long-lasting tree. Since the roots were a part of the foundation of the house, there is an implication that a strong family is fundamental to a strong society. The rooted tree also represents how loyal Penelope (Odysseus’ wife) and Odysseus were to each other despite their long-distance relationship. They were united even throughout all the distance and time spent away from each other. At the end of the story, when Odysseus returns, everything is back in place, and his family is stronger than ever because they are all together. Families make up societies, and unity within a society is important. Even though The Odyssey is just an epic, written years and years ago, the symbolism within it is comparable to today. In the United States, there is not as much unity as there used to be. More and more families are broken, and a lot of towns are in debt or are not receiving enough money to be viable. Many things are contributing to the direction in which the United States is going. One of which is the U.S.’s problems concerning opioids. The opioid epidemic the United States is facing has detrimental effects on not only people but societies.
Have you ever wondered how opioids can easily affect the human body? What causes people to become addicted to them after just one pill? It is quite complex actually. “The term ‘opiates’ refers to natural or slightly modified components of opium such as codeine, morphine, and heroin. The term ‘opioids’ was originally used for synthetic opiates such as Oxycontin and Fentanyl. But now is used for the entire class of drugs” (addictionsandrecovery.org/opioid-opiate-recovery.htm). Chemists chemically engineer morphine, oxycontin, and fentanyl to target the body’s nervous system. These dangerous drugs focus on the opioid receptors that mediate analgesia. Analgesia is the inability to feel pain. Within the general term opioid receptors, there are three different branches of these receptors and many more within the three. One of them is the MOR (μ or mu) opioid receptor. It controls the body’s reward system when given morphine or another drug. The next opioid receptor is the DOR (δ or delta) receptor. Delta controls chronic pain, mood, and homeostasis in the body. It ensures the well-being of the body. Activating this receptor through opioids could potentially be beneficial in that it could treat chronic pain and mood disorders. KOR (κ or kappa) opioid receptors are the last receptors. They are similar to mu receptors in that they numb pain but without the risk of addiction. Kappa also reduces stress and depressive states.
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“Animal and human studies have established that mu-opioid receptors are essential to mediate rewarding properties of both natural stimuli and drugs of abuse and that kappa receptors mediate dysphoria, particularly under stressful conditions” (Lutz & Kieffer, 2012).
Essentially, the body’s nervous system contains opioid receptors, each playing a part in the way in which different drugs affect a person.
The effects of opioids are harmful to the human body. While opioids like morphine, Oxycontin, and Vicodin are helpful in the recovery stage after certain surgeries. There is always a risk in taking these drugs. For instance, morphine, the drug commonly used to help deal with pain, can be harmful if abused. The mu receptor is targeted usually by morphine. Since mu is responsible for the body’s reward system, it can easily make the body physically dependent on the drug. There is a higher chance of this happening with morphine because the body can quickly build up a tolerance against it which requires the user to take more and more to feel the same effects (addictioncenter.com/opiates/morphine/symptoms-signs/). Other negative effects such as sleep apnea or trouble breathing in general can occur when using morphine. Sleep apnea is when the body stops breathing while asleep because the brain fails to transmit the correct signals. Since morphine is such a strong drug, taking too much of it can cause the central nervous system to slow down, making it difficult for the body to maintain basic functions. Breathing, being one of the body’s most crucial functions, can even fail. If indeed the body fails to intake enough oxygen, hypoxia or ischemia can set in. Hypoxia is when the brain does not get a sufficient amount of oxygen. Severe damage or even death can occur because of this lack of oxygen (https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320585.php#overview). “Common side effects of opioid administration include sedation, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, constipation, physical dependence, tolerance, and respiratory depression. Less common side effects may include delayed gastric emptying, hyperalgesia, immunologic and hormonal dysfunction, muscle rigidity, and myoclonus” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18443635). A case of delayed gastric emptying is when the stomach muscles are unable to work properly which results in food taking an abnormally long time to be processed. Hyperalgesia is when the body becomes more sensitive than normal to pain. Immunologic and hormonal dysfunction could occur which means that your immune system and your hormones that keep your body healthy would be all out of whack. Sudden jerking or spasming are signs of myoclonus. Although there are many effects of opioids, the most common are constipation and nausea. Although, the common effects mentioned may not have seemed super serious, abusing opioids is serious. Most of the effects could lead to death. Opioids are not to be carelessly used.
Not only do opioids affect individual people, but they create broken homes. Families or friends of drug abusers tend to suffer along with them. For instance, an addict can cause instability within his family. The drug dependence forces him to come to a place where he will do anything to get his next hit even if it is not a convenient place or time. Lying and stealing are common with addicts. Because of this, relationships within a family will be tense. The family will feel like they cannot trust the addict. The unpredictability of an addict is unsettling and unstable for families. Since addicts are more focused on getting their next joint, their responsibilities are thrown onto other family members. This burdens families in that they have to take on more than maybe they can handle. Opioid abusers also can inadvertently cause financial problems within their families. Buying illegal drugs can cost money, and with an addict, especially, money can add up. If a drug user has a job, most likely his addiction will in one way or another interfere with his work life, resulting in losing his job or not earning enough to be stable financially. Not bringing in enough money will create strains with family members.
Within a family, children are also affected by parents with drug abuse problems. “Children may experience neglect and abuse. In America, 40-80% of all child abuse cases are within families where alcohol and drug abuse are also present.” (https://www.thecabinchiangmai.com/blog/alcohol-and-drug-abuse-affects-the-whole-family/). This often occurs because, to an addict, drugs come first, which results in the children having to come up with their means to survive. If the parents are on their highs most of the time, they will be unfit to parent because they might become inconsistent with rules or consequences depending on how they feel. Because an addict is unfit to parent, it can cause the children to take on adult roles and responsibilities in the family. Since an addict is busier about getting drugs, they are not there to nurture or love and guide their child which hinders the child’s development and social strengths.
Another way that drugs affect families is through divorce which is prevalent in the 21st century. Opioid abuse contributes to some percentage of divorce.
“Within a sample of divorcing parents, Hawkins, Willoughby, and Doherty (2012) found that the most endorsed reasons for divorce from a list of possible choices were growing apart (55%), not being able to talk together (53%), and how one’s spouse handled money (40%). Amato and Previti (2003) found that when divorced individuals were asked open-endedly to provide their reasons for divorce, the most cited reasons were infidelity (21.6%), incompatibility (19.2%), and drinking or drug use (10.6%)” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4012696/).
In the first sample, they found that 40% of people noted that how one’s spouse handled money was a common cause of divorce. The price of oxycodone without insurance per pill is 33 cents. The cost of oxy on the streets per pill is $20. When people become addicts, they need more than just one pill. Spending $20 per pill can add up. It always seems like a small amount of money, but the more you get, the more it adds up. Getting fentanyl is even more expensive than oxy. It is $9.40 per pill without insurance, and on the streets, it is $40 per pill (https://www.addictioncenter.com/drugs/how-much-do-drugs-cost/). Spending money on opioids is not the most responsible way to handle one’s income. The second survey shows that drug abuse is not at the top of the list for divorces, but it is still one of the most common reasons. “The Census Bureau says that 25% of all U.S. families are headed by single women. In African American communities about 70% of households are headed by a single woman” (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/broken-families-lead-to-broken-communities/2015/04/08/041768c8-dca0-11e4-a500-1c5bb1d8ff6a_story.html). Knowing that about 330 million people live in the United States, we can estimate that 82.5 million homes are led by a single mom. If 10.6% of divorces are caused by drinking or drug abuse, it means that an estimated 8,745,000 marriages have split from drinking or drug abuse. If we do the math for African American families, we can estimate that 24,486,000 more marriages are caused by drinking or drug abuse. How drugs affect people can cause many marriages to fall apart.
Furthermore, broken families create broken societies. Since a lot of homes are without fathers, many children are being raised without a father figure in their lives. Psychology Today says that “71% of high school dropouts are fatherless…,” and that they are all around less likely to excel in academics. A common effect of having an absent father is behavioral problems including having difficulty with social adjustment and using a façade to hide underlying problems which could explain why so many fatherless children may not excel in life. Psychology Today also says that “85% of youth in prison have an absent father…” This complies with the earlier effect of children becoming more aggressive. They would be more likely to get offenses on their record and possibly go to jail as adults (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/co-parenting-after-divorce/201205/father-absence-father-deficit-father-hunger). Not only do children struggle from not having father figures, but they are more likely to commit crimes and as earlier said go to jail. The bad influence in these homes from the parents makes children more likely to become just like their parents. With drugs in the house, a child getting into opioids is facilitated through easy access to the drugs. Essentially, there are many ways that fatherless children are affected, but adding opioid abuse into the mix is not helpful.
As previously mentioned, fatherless teens are less likely to excel in school. This results in a below-average education. Not having a good education will make getting jobs difficult. Many employers require GEDs or high school diplomas. Higher-paying jobs will require college degrees with a certain GPA that is maintained. Unfortunately, not many high school dropouts or kids who do not excel in school plan to go to college.
A community filled with drug-addicted or poorly educated children and parents does not allow for a healthy and flourishing society. No society can be successful if there is not a working class within it. With so many fatherless households, there are fewer and fewer people who will be able to fill positions that pay enough for a person to live on. A lot of employers require drug tests or do routine drug tests. Failing drug tests is not helpful at all when interviewing for jobs. For instance, if parents need jobs, and they go to interview for one, but if they fail the drug test, they will most likely not get a job. This results in less income for their family which is ultimately going to be bad for their family. Having a good education and not being addicted to opioids is crucial to being a working man or woman. When people do not earn enough of an income in a town, most likely the town will be unable to pay to upkeep everything.
In conclusion, although the opioid epidemic may look like it only negatively affects a certain amount of people, on a larger scale, it is affecting everyone in ways that may not be as obvious. “Over 770,000 Americans have died from drug overdoses since 1999, and the total number of deaths jumped from 16,849 in 1999 to a high mark of 70,237 in 2017” (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/podcasts/20190911/20190911.htm). The United States is losing so many lives to opioids. These drugs are highly addictive and therefore dangerous to anyone. Too many broken homes have also been brought about by opioid abuse. The aforementioned effects of bringing drugs into a family can destroy so many things. Families are the obvious, but also opioid abuse is destroying children’s futures, marriages, relationships, friendships, and so many other aspects of life.
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