What Can be Done to Stop the Opioid Crisis in the United States Today?
Introduction

Today, a veritable public health crisis exists with respect to the widespread use of prescription and illicit opioids such as heroin, pain relievers and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl by American consumers. In fact, opioid overdoses claim more than 130 Americans each day, and there are no signs this ugly trend will reverse itself in the foreseeable future (Opioid overdose crisis, 2019). Moreover, the social and economic costs that are related to the tens of millions of people who are currently addicted to opioids is estimated to exceed $78.5 billion annually, a figure that includes that costs of lost productivity, healthcare and addiction treatment as well as adjudication of  criminal cases by the law enforcement community (Opioid overdose crisis, 2019). The purpose of this paper is to review the relevant literature to provide a concise description of opioids, the causes of the current crisis, and a summary of the most recent statistics concerning the number of fatalities caused by opioids in recent years. In addition, an assessment concerning what can be done to stem this ugly trend is followed by a summary of the research and important findings concerning the current opioid epidemic in the United States in the conclusion.

Review and Discussion

What are opioids and what are the different types?

Simply stated, opioids are a class of drugs which includes both illicit and prescription preparations. Illicit opioids include drugs such as synthetic opioids (i.e., fentanyl) and heroin while legitimate prescription opioids include various types of commonly used analgesics such as codeine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine, among numerous others (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2019). 

What caused crisis?

Beginning in the late 1990s, there was growing support among both regulatory boards and the health care community concerning the value of prescribing strong opioids for chronically painful musculoskeletal conditions (Roth & Burgess, 2017). In addition, the pharmaceutical industry also began actively lobbying health care organizations and clinicians during the last 1990s concerning the efficacy of strong opioids for a wide range of painful conditions (Opioid overdose crisis, 2019). In addition, the pharmaceutical industry’s lobbying efforts also included reassurances to the health care community that patients would not become addicted to these drugs. Not surprisingly, the rate of prescribing opioids began to skyrocket during this period, and it has only been recently that greater attention has been paid to the dangers of these drugs for patients of all ages as well as the potential for addiction to develop (Opioid overdose crisis, 2019).

In response to this growing public health threat, President Donald J. Trump declared an national opioids emergency in October 2017, President Trump declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency. Since that time, the U.S. government has...…initiatives targeted at the national opioid overdose crisis may not be enough to effect meaningful changes in the epidemic, but there are some proven methods that can help mitigate the deadly effects of opioid overdoses and help addicts recover as discussed below.

What can be done?

The powerful addictive qualities of opioids make the use of interventions that are designed to encourage addicts to quit especially difficult, due in large part to the painful withdrawal symptoms that typically result.  One of the main pharmacological interventions for opioid addiction and overdoses at present is the use of Suboxone to mediate withdrawal symptoms as well as Naloxone (commonly known as Narcan), which immediately cancels the effects of opioid intoxication, including pain relief and the euphoria that can exacerbate the addictive qualities of opioids. In any case of suspected opioid overdose, though, it is vitally important to call 911 to ensure a rapid medical response to the crisis.

Conclusion

At present, 130 Americans die each day as a result of opioid overdoses, and this alarming figure continues to increase nationwide. Despite some modest progress in addressing the problem by the U.S. government and state and local public health agencies, the research was consistent in showing that much more needs to be done to achieve long-lasting results. The causes of the current opioid crisis were shown to multiple, but included primarily lobbying efforts by the pharmaceutical industry to reassure