Update on the Opioid Crisis

America is in the midst of an opioid crisis, as over two million people have developed an addiction to prescription pain killers.

Opiates are pain relieving medications, such as hydrocodone, morphine, and oxycodone, prescribed by doctors to treat chronic pain. They also include illicit drugs, such as heroin and fentanyl, and an addiction can form very quickly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 115 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids everyday. [1] This is a national crisis that has affected so many individuals and their family members, as well as the social and economic welfare of this country. By bringing awareness to the availability of professional treatment, we can come together and help those who struggle with an opiate addiction overcome the disease. Banyan Treatment Center provides opiate addiction treatment in Philadelphia. Below we break down this national crisis and how it was formed.

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How Did the National Opioid Problem Form?

Medical experts and doctors assured the public that prescription pain killers would not lead to an addiction back in the 1990s, and this caused the opiate prescription rate to increase over time. This ultimately led to the rapid misuse of these medications, and the overdose rates started to grow. Patients start to develop a dependency to these drugs when they take more than what was initially prescribed. Individuals who are addicted to opiates will start to shop around for doctors to prescribe them more, or even turn to the streets and buy heroin to feel the same effects.

Some startling facts about the opioid crisis include:

The Journal of the American Medical Association published a study that finds synthetic opioids like fentanyl caused about 46 percent of opioid deaths in 2016. [2]
21-29 percent of patients prescribed opioids for chronic pain misuse them. [3]
The midwestern region saw opioid overdoses increase 70 percent from July 2016 through September 2017. [4]

There are currently steps being taken to combat this growing issue. The White House has announced a public awareness campaign in June that will target young adults addicted to opiates. There are so many resources available for treatment, such as customized rehab that will allow struggling individuals to break free from the addiction and start over.