Opioid Crisis in America: Examining Causes, Effects & Interventions

This essay provides a comprehensive overview of the opioid crisis in America, highlighting its emergence in the 1990s and its current devastating impact. It examines the various factors contributing to opioid addiction, including genetics, environmental influences, and the use of opioids for pain management and recreational purposes. The essay details the negative consequences of the crisis, such as increased overdose deaths, the spread of blood-borne diseases, and the vulnerability of youth to drug abuse. It also discusses the efforts being made to combat the crisis, including government initiatives, healthcare interventions, and community awareness programs. The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of continued vigilance and collaborative action to address the opioid crisis and safeguard the health and future of American communities. Desklib offers a wide range of academic resources, including essays and solved assignments, to support students in their studies.

The Opioid Crisis in America

One of the major crisis that the whole America is concerned about is the opioid crisis.
This problem has been sprouting gradually since 1990 when several pharmaceutical companies
assured that using opioid for preventing chronic pains was safe. After this announcement,
Americans started using opioid excessively and as a result, cases of Opioid overdose started
increased at a large rate. Now, every day, nearly 130 people are dying due to the overdose of
Opioid. Thus, limitless usage of Opioid in America are prone to lead the public specially the
youths, to a dreadful future. Fruitful steps need to be taken immediately to prevent Opioid crisis.
The health care professionals of America should pass laws to restrict the prescribing of this drug.
Opioid cast several negative effects upon the overall health of the people who misuse or abuse it.
There are some factors which enhances the chances of an individual to get addicted in opioid.
Genetics is one of them. It accelerates the process of being addicted since the adolescent period
of a person, especially when he or she is born from addicted parents. It is true even in the case,
when any one parent addict. Another crucial factor is environment. If a girl or boy is reared with
persons who are addicts, eventually due to the influence of the environment he or she becomes
an addict. There are also people who use opioids to kill the pain or ache they are unable to
tolerate. For example, after undergoing a surgery, patients often start using opioids to get rid of
the pain. This is also true for those who suffer from chronic pain. In such cases, consuming
opioid becomes a regular habit, which in turn make them addict. This happens specially in the
case when the patient has the predisposition to become an addict. There are some people who not
only have the predisposition of being an addict but also tend to use opioid for the purpose of
recreation as this make them feel that the quality of their lives are improved. Again, people who
undergoing depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety try to medicate themselves without consulting
any doctor. Often they find solace in consuming opioid, as it dilutes the negative feelings from

them. They fail to realise that opioid is not able to uproot their sickness. It only covers the illness
and creates another one, which is more dangerous.
The negative impact reflects in the fact that, already opioid has damaged the future of nearly
30% youth in America(NBC News, 2019). Death rate due to opioid overdose have been
increasing day by day. The opioid addicts have the courage to test the extent to which they are
able to consume opioid. In their course of testing their own ability they actually die due to drug
overdose. Some of the addicts tend to believe that he or she does not have the ability to overdose.
Some again enter into the illusion that they have enough immunity to escape death as they
overdose. Hence, it is clear that the negative impact of the addiction are overdose as well as ill
mental health. There are people who use opioid intravenously. They are prone to be attacked by
blood borne diseases as they use needles. This kinds of users also tend to use heroine when they
do not get opioid prescribed or realise the fact that heroine is much cheaper which in turn leads
them to death. In order to keep their business growing sometimes smugglers show youths, Teen-
agers who are naïve and newcomers in the world of drugs, a glorified image of drugs. Thus a
situation has been arisen in which drugs like opioid, heroin and also people related to this
business are becoming successful to destroy the present as well as future of the American youths.
Now it is essential to educate Americans about the deadly risks of addiction. Every person
should be well aware about their predisposition to become an addict, if they have any, and should
inform their physicians about it, though there are few chances; America should keep on fighting
so that the present as well as the future of the new addicts can also be saved (usatoday, 2019).

In order to fight with this crisis first statistics showing the exact rate due to opioid overdose
should be collected.
Next, there is a need to focus on the role of health care centres, nurses, institutions to eradicate
this crisis. Healthcare professionals and nurses are making great effort to prevent opioid
overdose. They are carrying on their experiments by attempting to dispose the left over or
expired medication in safe places. This is done to serve many purposes. The primary objective to
do this is to ensure that these medication end up by the streets where addicts may find them.
Another purpose is to eradicate unused medication from those places where someone other
except the individual who was prescribed, can take them. American government has also come
forward to put a stop to this crisis. This is why the doctors are denying to prescribe opioids.
(usatoday, 2019)

An official opioid crisis was declared by the president Donal Trump on 26th October,
2017. A website has also be opened by the president where the public can share their stories of
experiencing opioid crisis with an aim to combat it. (whitehouse.gov). The healthcare restrictions
are also reformed so that addicts get the better treatment according to their requirement.
Legislations have been imposed in order to stop the inflow of opioids through the mail system of
United States. The president has also taken initiatives to increase funds for the formation of non-
addictive painkillers.
In the conclusion, it may be stated that, the people of America have become a little more
conscious now, to eradicate the opioid crisis. Many have come forward to educate the people of
America about the predicaments of becoming an addict. Moreover, the healthcare professionals
as well as the lawmakers are making ceaseless efforts to ensure a healthy and bright future to the
next generation.

References
Clark, A. (2014). Legislative: Responding to the fatal opioid overdose epidemic: A call to
nurses. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 19(3).
Holmes, D. (2012). Prescription drug addiction: the treatment challenge. The Lancet, 379(9810),
17-18.
NBC News. (2019). Life with #EverydayRacism in America: These are your stories. NBC News.
The Exchange | A Blog by Ed Stetzer. (2019). The Church’s Response to the Opioid Crisis:
Practical Tool Kit for Faith-Based Leaders. The Exchange | A Blog by Ed Stetzer.
usatoday. (2019). Religious groups help transform addiction from moral failure to treatable
disease. usatoday.