Opioid Epidemic
Each day, more than one hundred people die in the United States from overdosing on a prescription drug, commonly known as opioids (“Opioid Overdose Crisis”). Opioids are a type of drug that is derived from the opium poppy plant, or that have been man made to match the same chemical structure of said plant. The ever-so-abundant abuse of these drugs has led to a national epidemic.
Using prescription drugs for purposes other than what they were prescribed for is known as substance abuse. The abuse can be attributed to using too much of the drug, taking a drug that is not prescribed to that person, or taking the drugs for the intention of getting “high” (Prescription Drug). When opioids are taken correctly, there is little to no side effects nor damage to the brain, however, when they are taken incorrectly, nerve damage to receptors in the brain can be damaged. One side effect of opioids, taken correctly or not, is the chemical feeling of euphoria in the brain while using. This euphoria also causes a feeling of dependence when it is not achieved, leading to addiction and substance abuse (“Prescription Opioids”).
This epidemic has come about because of the over prescription of these pain relievers. In past years, such as the late 1990s, doctors were not informed about the safety and risks these drugs posed. They promised that the drugs were safe and began to over prescribe them (Volkow). As of 2017, the opioid mortality rate has contributed to the third straight yearly decline in life expectancy in the United States, a number that hasn’t been seen since the 1960s (Felter).
As stated from the United States Defense Information System Agency, this epidemic has cost the US more than one trillion dollars since 2001, according to a new study, and may exceed another $500 million over the next three years (“Opioid Epidemic”). Although opioids are very effective in pain management, the alarming statistics of the epidemic proves that the government is not doing enough to regulate these opioids and changes must be made. Many examples of this can be found in sectors such as the American Economy, threats to National Security, and has taken a major toll on public health.
The opioid epidemic poses more problems than just addiction. Another large problem the US is facing that comes with opioids is a strain on our economy. A study from The National Institute on Drug Abuse has found that the effects of opioids has cost the US over $78.5 billion per year (“Opioid Overdose Crisis”).
This strain can be attributed to a loss in job earnings and productivity. Most work related injuries are prescribed opioids due to the frequent slip, trip, fall, hazards, and heavy workloads that are all common at workplaces (“Opioids and Work”). An article from the Centers For Disease Control explains that with these work related injuries also cause job insecurity, job loss, and highly demanding jobs with low control are also being prescribed prescription opioids (“Opioid Overdose Reversal”).
Another way that opioids put a strain on the economy is through medical health care. A report from the Defense Information Systems Agency, also known as DISA, has already cost the US over $215 billion over the last 18 years (“Opioid Epidemic”). These costs have come from hospital visits, emergency transportation, and a recovery drug to quickly stop an overdose. This recovery drug is commonly known as Naloxone and works by stopping opioids from sending signals to receptors in the brain (“Opioid Overdose Reversal”). Although this drug is life saving, it also attributes to the rising costs of the epidemic.
With the opioid epidemic, taxes are also affected which in turn, harms the economy. With deaths occurring at a younger age, local, state, and federal governments are all impacted because of lost tax revenue (“Opioid Overdose Crisis”). In an article from Adam Scavette, it is explained that the average age of death by overdose is only 41 years old. This then leads to a high percentage of lost productivity in the workforce (Scavatte).
These issues all lead to a strain on the US economy. The government however is not doing enough to stop this. It is projected that this epidemic is to cost an additional $500 billion to the US by the year 2020 (“Economic Toll”). If the government were to set more regulations on the administration on the overdose reversal drug, as well as increasing taxes on opioids itself, these simple solutions would make a large impact on reducing the strain to the economy. In New York alone, the attorney general granted $1.2 million to supply its officers with the drug, Naloxone (Scavatte). This is a major contribution to the massive amount of debt caused by the epidemic and solutions must be made to stop this.
Another reason that the government should be doing more to regulate opioids is because the epidemic poses a threat to national security. There are many factors that contribute to this such as the concern for the quality of life and many issues with homeland security. Homeland security is a part of the federal government and is responsible for securing the US from any and all threats we may face. However, despite their best efforts opioids are still a large and growing problem in the US.
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One part of this security concern is that the quality of life must be evaluated. A study from The American Public Health Association concludes that policies implemented to stop prescription opioids have a high chance of increasing the use of heroin and will reduce the quality of life for this group (Pitt). In this study, it was also projected that with stopping opioid use, that heroin use would increase so much that the death toll of heroin overdose would outweigh the harms of prescription opioids (Pitt). This goes to show that although opioids are a rising problem, there is not yet a solution that will result in a lesser number of deaths and is becoming an even larger threat to national security.
Another threat opioids relate to US security is the Customs and Border Protection, also known as the CBP, has seen a rising number in opioids crossing the border. From a fact sheet produced by the Department of Homeland Security, it is shown that over the past two years, the CBP has found an 810% increase in opioids being sent through the mail and only a small portion has been stopped from reaching American communities (“Confronting”). The same statistic sheet from the Department of Homeland Security also states that international mail is screened for radiological material and packages that are considered high-risk are to then be screened by a canine, officer, or by x-ray (“Confronting”). Although international packages are being screened, there is no screening done to domestic packages nor are inconspicuous packages advancely screened, raising a large concern to the safety in the US.
Another way that this epidemic relates to security is the alarming fact that Homeland Security is seizing more opioids than ever before. Some of these statistics can be found on a fact sheet from the Department of Homeland Security stating that the CBP and ICE, the Immigrating and Customs Enforcement, has managed to collect over 5,000 pounds of opioids, the equivalent of over 1.2 billion fatal doses, and enough to kill each and every American four times (“Confronting”). This raises the concern about how much of this drug is not being seized. Although many pounds of these drugs are being found, many millions more are still going unnoticed.
Opioids raise a huge threat to the safety and security of the United States. This can be shown in many different ways including but not limited to; opioids sent in the mail foreignly and also domestically, the amount of opioids being seized, and the overall quality of life for Americans. In an article on the Department of Homeland’s official website, by John Davis, it says that “even with that close scrutiny, it’s hard to find something measured in milligrams in the tons of mail that come through every day” and that “agents and officers at the border and ports of entry check as many shipments as possible, it’s simply not practical to check every shipment” (Davis). Considering this to be true, the government should set more regulations to aid the search of packages and transportation with the intention of finding and confiscating more opioids. Another way the government can aid is to spend more money on Homeland Security so that they can have special teams dedicated to searching for opioids in a team greater than the 57 members that it has now for the entire nation (“Confronting”).
Another sector that goes to show the government is not doing enough to regulate opioids, are the impacts that they have on public health. Many factors support this such as increasing rates of HIV and neonatal abstinence. As of now the government is only giving minimal support and funding to aid the public health concern.
A large portion of this public health issue can be shown through the increasing rates of blood-borne illnesses due to shared needles. The Council on Foriegn Relations article on The U.S. Opioid Epidemic explains how with these shared syringes lead to raising rates of Hepatitis C and HIV (Felter). From AVERT, Global Information and Education on HIV and AIDS, tells that water used to clean injecting equipment, reusing containers to dissolve opioids, or reusing filters can, too, transmit HIV (“Sharing Needles”).
An additional way that opioids add to the risk of public health is the risk of babies being born with dependency. As the Council on Foreign Relations tells, “Mothers may pass on opioid dependence to their children if they are abusers while pregnant or breastfeeding” (Felter). The National Institute on Drug Abuse also states that if using opioids while pregnant, there is a high risk for the mother to have a miscarrige or to have a child with a low birth rate (“Prescription Opioids”).
To add to the public health concern, opioids have additional issues facing newborn babies. An issue that is to be faced is called Neonatal abstinence when a newborn baby has withdrawal symptoms from drugs that were being exposed while the baby was still developing. As the Council on Foreign Relations reports, “ Incidences of neonatal abstinence syndrome quadrupled in the last 12 years” (Felter). With this statistic, it can be shown that nothing is being done to help mothers in need while pregnant. The National Institute on Drug Abuse states that, “Methadone and buprenorphine are two medicines to treat opioid-dependent pregnant women” and these must be taken together while the mother is pregnant, which many mothers can not afford (“Prescription Opioids”).
These issues with opioids and public health are a major concern for American society. Although there are resources to dispose of used needles and programs that can assist with providing clean needles, there is still a large risk of blood-borne illnesses that can be spread with them. At AVERT, it is explained that “abusers that practice with needles may consider joining a methadone or buprenorphine programme to reduce your risk of HIV”, a liquid form instead of injection (“Sharing Needles”). Although this may be an option, it is not readily available for most people. Along with this, the statistics of Neonatal abstinence show that even though there are drugs that can help mothers quit, there are not always accessible to them, as many can't afford it. The government should be putting more money into these resources so that the statistics of blood-borne illnesses and neonatal abstinence can decrease.
Although the government does have few support programs, access to them may not always be easy. The government has allowed New York to spend $1.2 billion for the opioid crisis (Scavatte), however, this amount only adds to and does not stop the projected costs for this epidemic. The government has created some relief programs to supply users with clean needles and water but does not stop the act from happening.
The government is not doing enough to regulate opioids. There are numerous statistics and reports that conclude that more government intervention needs to be made in an effort to stop this epidemic. It is shown that the government is willing to spend money for rescue drugs, creating specialized teams, and providing clean needles for users, all of these resources contribute to the debt that this epidemic is causing. The opioid epidemic is wreaking havoc on the United States’ economy, national security, and public health; and without the intervention of the government, this epidemic will never stop.
Works Cited
- “Confronting the Opioid Crisis .” Official Website of the Department of Homeland Security, 30 Apr. 2019, www.dhs.gov/publication/confronting-opioid-crisis.
- Davis, John. “Fighting the Opioid Scourge.” Fighting the Opioid Scourge | U.S. Customs and Border Protection U.S. Customs and Border Protection - Fighting the Opioid Scourge, www.cbp.gov/frontline/fighting-opioid-scourge.
- “Economic Toll of Opioid Crisis in U.S. Exceeded $1 Trillion Since 2001.” Economic Toll of Opioid Crisis in U.S. Exceeded $1 Trillion Since 2001, Altarum, 6 Dec. 2018, altarum.org/news/economic-toll-opioid-crisis-us-exceeded-1-trillion-2001.
- Felter, Claire. “The U.S. Opioid Epidemic.” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations, 17 Sept. 2019, www.cfr.org/backgrounder/us-opioid-epidemic.
- National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Opioid Overdose Crisis.” NIDA, 22 Jan. 2019, www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/opioids/opioid-overdose-crisis#two.
- National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Opioid Overdose Reversal with Naloxone (Narcan, Evzio).” NIDA, 4 Oct. 2018, www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/opioid-overdose-reversal-naloxone-narcan-evzio.
- National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Prescription Opioids.” NIDA, June 2019, www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/prescription-opioids.
- “Opioid Epidemic.” DISA Global Solutions, 9 July 2019, disa.com/drug-alcohol-testing/opioid-epidemic.
- “Opioids and Work.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 5 Oct. 2018, www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2019-101/work.html.
- Pitt, Allison L. ,Keith Humphreys, and Margaret L. Brandeau, 2018:
- Modeling Health Benefits and Harms of Public Policy Responses to the US Opioid Epidemic American Journal of Public Health 108, 1394_1400, https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304590
- Prescription Drug Abuse. ProQuest, Ann Arbor, 2019. sirsissuesresearcher, https://explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2257693204?accountid=193381.
- Scavatte, Adam. “Exploring the Economic Effects of the Opioid Epidemic.” Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Research Department, 2019.
- “Sharing Needles to Inject Drugs, and HIV.” Avert, 20 Aug. 2019, www.avert.org/hiv-transmission-prevention/injecting-drugs.
- Volkow, Nora D. “Prescription Drug Abuse.” NIDA Archives, 22 Sept. 2010, archives.drugabuse.gov/testimonies/2010/prescription-drug-abuse.
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