As an undergraduate student, it’s easy to feel detached from issues that do not seem to impact you. We have homework, exams, jobs, internships, and friends all carefully balanced on a spinning axis; if you toss anything else on, the axis will almost certainly come crashing down. So, bear with me while I show you why this is something you need to care about, why this is something worth balancing on your spinning axis.📷
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Opioid Epidemic claims 130 lives every day. The epidemic has gone through three identified waves: an increase in opioid prescriptions in the 1990s, a spike in heroin deaths in 2010, and an increase in fentanyl deaths in 2013. It’s easy to feel detached from this crisis when it’s not a struggle for you or your family. However, the issue is closer to you than you may think – or hope. A significant part of the Opioid Epidemic involves the over-prescription of opioids leading to high instances of misuse and overdose; 46 lives are lost every day to prescription opioid overdoses. Though they are necessary at times, prescription opioids are frighteningly common. There were 58 opioid prescriptions per 100 Americans in 2017 (CDC, 2017). Opioid prescriptions are written for several common surgeries that the average person or their family member will likely have at some point in their life. Many of us, for example, will have our wisdom teeth removed before we graduate college. Opioid prescriptions are often written for wisdom teeth removal surgeries, but this practice is far more dangerous than it is helpful. It takes little time for seemingly harmless misuse of a prescription to turn into a serious addiction. 📷
So, what can you do? I implore you, if nothing else, to keep the crisis in your thoughts. It may not seem like an active part of your life now, but it could be, which makes it something worth thinking about. Help to counteract the villainization of those struggling with addiction, and erase the stigma surrounding the Opioid Epidemic by encouraging others to see their place in the issue and their moral obligation to do something. Know that you are not above the issue nor are you invincible to the struggle. Most simply and most importantly, ask for help if you or a friend needs it.
References
Opioid Basics | Drug Overdose | CDC Injury Center. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/opioids/index.html
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