#stopheroin

America’s nationwide opioid epidemic is destroying cities and communities every day. In Austin, Indiana, injection uses of the pharmaceutical Opana and street drug heroin have shown correlation with nearly 150 cases of HIV within the very small population of 4,200. Every day we hear continuous ambulance sirens going off.  Unfortunately they’re most likely responding to the most recent heroin overdose.  The number of heroin-related deaths has increased abruptly in every region of America from 2000 through 2013.  Heroin use among Americans has grown by 145 percent since 2007 according to The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.  These statistics are disturbing, heartbreaking and distasteful. Heroin.net states that since 2014, 4.8 million Americans aged 12 or older have reported using heroin at least once. It is sadly disappointing that so many families are suffering because of the irresponsibility of the FDA and the greed of “Big” pharmaceutical companies.  How else do you explain selling 780 million painkiller pills in six years to a single pharmacy in a city where fewer than 400 people live? Either this is absolute negligence, extreme greed or a preposterous attempt at population control. Overprescribing prescriptions such as Percocet, Vicodin, and OxyContin have caused many people to fall subject to opioid addiction.  These companies in my opinion disregarded human life and took it upon themselves to “manufacture” these addicts.  Most people that have become addicted to the prescriptions resort to using heroin once their supply of pills has been cut off.  And because of this, heroin has made its way into the homes of communities that would have never been subject to such, had it not been “dressed up” in the form of a pill first.  

Attorney General Jeff Sessions and President Trump think the best way to combat the heroin epidemic is harsher consequences for traffickers and drug dealers.  Sessions suggests that there be a reimposition of mandatory minimum prison sentences for heroin dealers and traffickers like the ones put in place during the crack-cocaine epidemic of the eighties.  His solution to the nation’s problem is to pick drug dealers and traffickers up, lock them, and throw away the key.  This solution sounds similar to the epic failed attempt in the so called “war on drugs.”  President Trump went even further by seeming to imply that he supports executing people who sell illegal drugs.  This is coming from the same man that supported legalization of drugs in 1990. But back to my point, we’re always focused on cartels and low-level drug dealers when we think about addressing the constant nuisance.  What about the doctors and pharmaceutical companies that ignited the problem.  What about the Federal Drug Administration that approved it?  Anyone that can consciously research, market, and produce drugs knowing the outcome and still disregard the inevitable, has absolutely no respect for human life.  If there is anything such as “justice” left in our broken criminal justice system, we will see to it that these CEO’s, board members, and doctors responsible suffer the consequences for their actions. Just as we push for drug dealers and cartels to face punishment.

The progression of the opioid epidemic has resulted in several different approaches to bring immediate response to the issue.  President Trump declared it a State of Emergency that needs intense attention.  Several states and counties have taken lawsuits out on pharmaceutical companies in attempt to hold them accountable for this disaster.  Most recently a Surgeon General Warning has been advised by the nation’s top doctor.  U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams is bringing the importance of naloxone to the public’s attention, advising that more people get trained to administer it, and keep on their personal in case of emergency.  Naloxone is a medication used to counter the effects of opioid overdose. When a person is suffering an overdose, their breathing slows and then eventually stops due to their brain trying to fit in too many receptors for opioids.  Naloxone is able to counteract life-threatening depression of the central nervous system and respiratory system by knocking the opioids off the receptors for a short time, which gives the sufferer a chance to breathe again resulting in escape from overdose and death.  Naloxone is a non-addictive prescription medication that can be administered by not only emergency response personnel, but everyday citizens that are educated and trained on the use of the drug as well.  It can be injected in the muscle, vein or under the skin or sprayed into the nose.  Naloxone doesn’t work for any other type of drug overdose, only in the case of an opioid overdose. The temporary drug wears off in 20 – 90 minutes.  

According to the Surgeon General’s office, research has shown that when community members are trained and educated on opioid overdose and naloxone, overdoses decrease in those communities.  However, there are still mixed feelings about the second chance, lifesaving “miracle” drug.  Some people feel that it is an enabling tool for addicts to continue to abuse illegal drugs. With respect to these opinions, they should take into consideration that users aren’t the only people subject to overdose.  Children, police officers, and emergency responders can be given second chances at life in case of an overdose from incidental exposure to a high potency opiate. This alone is good enough reason for American people to consider being properly trained and educated on using the second chance, lifesaving medication Naloxone. Thank you Surgeon General.  Your warning will definitely save lives.

References

America and the Heroin Epidemic. (2018). Heroin.net. Retrieved 8 April 2018, from https://heroin.net/think/america-and-the-heroin-epidemic/

 Angell, T. (2018). Forbes Welcome. Forbes.com. Retrieved 8 April 2018, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomangell/2018/03/01/trump-talks-up-death-penalty-for-drug-dealers/#3f7bc6b34c2d

 Cass, A. (2018). Should people carry naloxone? Surgeon General says yes.. News-herald.com. Retrieved 8 April 2018, from http://www.news-herald.com/general-news/20180406/should-people-carry-naloxone-surgeon-general-says-yes

 Sederer, L. (2018). Retrieved 8 April 2018, from https://www.usnews.com/opinion/civil-wars/articles/2017-11-30/jeff-sessions-new-war-on-drugs-is-the-wrong-way-to-fix-the-opioid-crisis

 Understanding Naloxone - Harm Reduction Coalition. (2018). Harmreduction.org. Retrieved 8 April 2018, from http://harmreduction.org/issues/overdose-prevention/overview/overdose-basics/understanding-naloxone/