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The opioid crisis is part of a decades-long overdose epidemic. Fixing it requires rethinking everything.

  

Category:  News & Politics

Via:  perrie-halpern  •  6 years ago  •  44 comments

The opioid crisis is part of a decades-long overdose epidemic. Fixing it requires rethinking everything.
The reason drugs are killing more Americans every year has to do with the social toxins in our communities.

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T



As opioid deaths surge nationwide, the overdose crisis that claims so many young lives every day has spiraled into a public health emergency. But the epidemic started long before your teenage neighbor took his last hit — and policymakers are dangerously fixated on the specific drug that landed him in intensive care, instead of the social drivers paving many generations’ paths to addiction before he was even born.

A new study on opioid-related overdose deaths   provides another perspective on the crisis by mapping the phenomenon over an extended timeframe. Researchers traced the roots of the overdose problem beyond opioids themselves, across a   long arc of drug use that has been consuming lives for decades.

It’s true that drug abuse is an acute problem; fatal overdoses  extinguish more than 170  lives every day , and an increasing number in the last few years involve prescription opioids and heroin. Viewed in the historical context of overall rates of drug overdose, however, the recent rise in opioid deaths marks just one inflection of a deeper, more subsurface pattern.

Researchers say that the wider epidemic of drug-related overdose deaths “has been inexorably tracking along an exponential growth curve since at least 1979.” And the reason drugs are killing more Americans every year likely has less to do with what exactly we’re putting in our bodies, than with the social toxins that are bleeding silently through our communities.

According to the study, overdose-related death and overall drug use are tied to “Sociological and psychological ‘pull’ forces...such as despair, loss of purpose, and dissolution of communities.” The rise in deadly overdoses tends to parallel other mortality patterns, such as   rising suicide rates , which have swelled among youth and are   largely linked to depression .

The explosion of opioid use in recent years is actually similar to other drug trends that have cycled over time, like cocaine or methamphetamines — both of which were deemed the signature drug epidemics of prior years. But these successive vices flow into a longstanding trend in lethal behavior, whether the culprit comes out of a crack pipe or a bottle of fentanyl.

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Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Principal
1  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.    6 years ago

It's time to get real about the opioid problem in this country. What are your thoughts about this?

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Guide
1.1  epistte  replied to  Perrie Halpern R.A. @1    6 years ago

Criminalizing mental illness is a very serious problem in the US, but because it is very profitable change is going to be difficult. There is also a very real stigma to mental illness that creates a lack of access to effective treatment. 

The economic situation that many people find themselves in causes problems when people just give up and want drugs to mask the pain and despair. Blaming them for being weak is not the solution

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Principal
1.1.1  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  epistte @1.1    6 years ago

I agree about the mental illness component in the opioid problem. We have barely passed the stone age when it comes to mental illness. It's as if, you can't see it, it is not a real illness, it is a weakness. 

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Guide
1.1.2  epistte  replied to  Perrie Halpern R.A. @1.1.1    6 years ago
I agree about the mental illness component in the opioid problem. We have barely passed the stone age when it comes to mental illness. It's as if, you can't see it, it is not a real illness, it is a weakness. 

I have had Drs tell me that. Many MDs only understand what they can test for with an MRI or blood/urine test, but because mental illness doesn't work that way they don't see the many problems that they cause. They just don't care. I had to report a Dr. to the state medical board because I told him that he was making the problem worse when he was treating a co-existing condition. He said "Your mental health isn't something that I concern myself with". I should have taken the hint when my pharmacist told me that he was a a'hole with her when he made a mistake on a 'script and she called and questioned him.  They do not see a person. They only want to see their own specialty and ignore the problems that they are causing or ignoring because they want to optimize one system but in the process they throw others out of wack. Osteopaths are much better in this regard because they see a person and understand that a chart is just part of the information that they must take into consideration when making treatment decisions. 

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Principal
1.1.3  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  epistte @1.1.2    6 years ago

DO's have a holistic view of medicine and I think that is why you had such a different kind of treatment than from a regular doc. But really, if you went to a psychopharmacologist, you would have a whole different reaction to your mental health. The problem is, that most docs are really not qualified to treat mental illness, nor are they interested because as you said, they can't do a blood test for it.  

 
 
 
JohnRussell
Professor Principal
1.2  JohnRussell  replied to  Perrie Halpern R.A. @1    6 years ago

We haven't "gotten real" about any other drug problem, or cigarette smoking or alcohol drinking. 

What makes anyone think we will "get real" about this ? 

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Principal
1.2.1  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  JohnRussell @1.2    6 years ago

Well, I think with cigarettes things have improved greatly since I was a kid. Alcohol is treated as socially acceptable until you are a drunk. 

What makes me think we might get real about this? Well, when it starts to affect every level of Americans, then people take note. 

 
 
 
Larry Hampton
Professor Participates
2  Larry Hampton    6 years ago

The article is right on. This goes beyond the actual addictive nature of any drug; it goes to the core of why we are self medicating ourselves to deprivation and death. I propose that our disconnect of relationship with others, with the other beings on the planet, and Nature itself cause this.

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Principal
2.1  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  Larry Hampton @2    6 years ago

Larry, 

I agree with you totally. Part of the fall out of our modern world is that instead of being more connected we have never been so lonely. Our disconnect is almost of our own doing and I fear it is only going to get worse. 

Also until we start to stop treating mental illness as an embarrassment or a weakness, this will exacerbate the problem.

 
 
 
igknorantzrulz
PhD Quiet
3  igknorantzrulz    6 years ago

The Opiod Crisis was a preventable plague, but monetary motivations numb minds that can’t feel when taking of ones soul is a Momentary glimpse of the devaluation of a twisted nation, by design , cause like religion, just another opiod for the masses 

tuff to sell addoctive products 


 
 
 
sandy-2021492
Professor Expert
4  sandy-2021492    6 years ago

I was watching a TED talk a few months ago that addressed this topic, and the speaker said something I found intriguing - "The opposite of addiction is connection."  Our social connections, if they're healthy, protect us from addiction.  Of course, the definition of "healthy" will vary from person to person.  But we have to treat a person's mental illness, and make sure that they have an emotionally healthy environment in which to exist, so they can stay mentally healthy.  Send them back home into loneliness or dysfunction, and they'll start using again.  Addiction has a physical component, but it's not primarily a physical disorder.

I think many addicts are self-medicating for mental illness of some sort.  Many of my family members are addicted to something or other, and I'd say that many of them suffer from untreated depression or anxiety disorder.

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Guide
4.1  epistte  replied to  sandy-2021492 @4    6 years ago
Addiction has a physical component, but it's not primarily a physical disorder. I think many addicts are self-medicating for mental illness of some sort.  Many of my family members are addicted to something or other, and I'd say that many of them suffer from untreated depression or anxiety disorder.

I agree 100%.

 
 
 
igknorantzrulz
PhD Quiet
4.1.1  igknorantzrulz  replied to  epistte @4.1    6 years ago
and I'd say that many of them suffer from untreated depression or anxiety disorder.

I only N Joy Depression when the ground is softened up a bit, and my impression becomes deeper, than the puddles I wade through without waders, due to a café racer X buffet style cafeteria that makes everyone too anxious to calm a serene scene through the telescopic instrument, also known as a microscopic organism, that is Todays Special

topic,  a all pimped out and jumpin, while glorified group oh gals gallantly liftin their one piece erector set, sold only in subsets, by subcontractors surviving by conquering the anxiety's nobody worries about, because its' repulsive attractiveness of the cafeteria's, aging work force gone wild, due to white smock and bibs,

that catch all the flack N drool, when we all become just another old tool, prying US into A frying pan seared at Roebucks, due to his pigment to be served Kosher like a blessed meal, Placid and pickled, like a Dill sinko D mayo maze of corn rowed and cropped dusted for Dan, drove from scalps gathered from the heads, shrunken from those so swollen, like a river engulphing  Mexico and Mar Lar Go

to moisten the Tulips parched,

in the no parching zone, due to water restrictions removed, to drown sorrows, that flooded away tomorrows', to get up caught on todays loners that borrow, a debt it wild card with dues done to dew the dew gathered at the dew point

of

know return

to sender, by special delivery, a C section adjacent to D jection , cause Special K was never meant to B spelled that weigh, but words can't all ways wait, in rooms with observations, about other rooms

width out a lengthy view of uncovered area, shaded by bright daughters seeking suns, to eclipse the lunacy, for some to see, while others

are

left on the

Dark Side, but,

it's actually All Dark, with light reflectin into refraction as it is splintered under

nails

of appendages, without borders, from peninsulas land locked to oceans of thoughtless than moored vessels transporting blood to organic herbs summoned by organs played by pianists who explain in White Stripes, how Black Keys, can start a Zebra ,  spotted,  on a plain old plane spanning flapping wing nutz with loose screws on a plateau

.

cuz we all a little Krazy, N We REALLY DIDN"T NEED Big Pharma to introduce super addictive synthetic Heroin,

to take away a little pain, and a lot of chemicals produced via the brain,

makin it all

seem

just a little more,

than one can ever get enough off.

.

When eye turn 73.46 years of age, I gotta see what the Hell all this hub bub is about with this Heroin phase on beyond stun,

cause this phase KILLS, & on this we probably ALL agree, cause bout everyone is affected,

F U Pharmaceuticals         Millions of Deaths are on their hands

down 

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Principal
4.2  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  sandy-2021492 @4    6 years ago

Hi Sandy,

I think that is true in some cases, but I personally know in my family, that the people who have suffered from mental illness have been very connected. And look at Charlie Sheen. He is so loved by his dad and his friends and still, he is an addict. My daughter is starting her Phd in cog neuro psych, and she will tell you, that the brain is just not operating right. They can actually see this on FMRI's. Most regular doctors are not up on the latest literature on the subject. You need to see a neuropsychologist and they need to tailor medications and therapy specific for your condition. 

 
 
 
Phoenyx13
Sophomore Silent
4.3  Phoenyx13  replied to  sandy-2021492 @4    6 years ago
But we have to treat a person's mental illness, and make sure that they have an emotionally healthy environment in which to exist, so they can stay mentally healthy.  Send them back home into loneliness or dysfunction, and they'll start using again.  Addiction has a physical component, but it's not primarily a physical disorder. I think many addicts are self-medicating for mental illness of some sort.  Many of my family members are addicted to something or other, and I'd say that many of them suffer from untreated depression or anxiety disorder.

i completely agree with you - very well said  jrSmiley_79_smiley_image.gif

 
 
 
Bob Nelson
Professor Guide
5  Bob Nelson    6 years ago

IMNAAHO, we need two general rules:
 - prohibition does not work, and
 - there is no crime without a victim (other than the perpetrator).

The carnage we observe around drugs (including opioids) is almost exclusively due to their being illegal. Gangs kill each other over distribution. Uncontrolled standards lead to overdoses. And so on...

We allow people to kill themselves with alcohol, firearms, cars, ... So why should we get upset with drugs?

Make drugs available (pharmacies) at a logical price, and let people do as they please...

 
 
 
igknorantzrulz
PhD Quiet
5.1  igknorantzrulz  replied to  Bob Nelson @5    6 years ago
Make drugs available (pharmacies) at a logical price, and let people do as they please...

Been to Amsterdam a few times, had a blast, and yes there were still addicts, but they oftened just looked like locals

mixed results from what ive read

 
 
 
lennylynx
Sophomore Quiet
5.1.1  lennylynx  replied to  igknorantzrulz @5.1    6 years ago
"Been to Amsterdam a few times, had a blast..."

Wow Iggy...take me with you next time? jrSmiley_11_smiley_image.gif

 
 
 
igknorantzrulz
PhD Quiet
5.1.2  igknorantzrulz  replied to  lennylynx @5.1.1    6 years ago

Amazing place to visit with the right company.

We'd have a BALL, and Trout said she's in,

yet,

I can't feel her yet...

.

It would be interesting to go somewhere with people known only through such a sight to not have actually seen another in person.

.

I'm often in Amacs neighborhood, as my grandmother lived within about a mile of his one residence, and ive friends that live only a few miles from his other.

Believe we'd also have some FUn.

.

Just a heads up, this IS really me, and I do act inappropriately like it was the only way, it just always came naturally, so no need for breast enhancements or anything...

I can on occasion, hold peoples attention, and sometimes, for all the wrong reasons, but YOU WILL LAUGH and N joy yourself, as difficult as it may seem, some are actually not really sure how to take me, I suggest by the hand to hand combat that I prefer, as verbal jui jitsu never felt so anti pro sematic, and who doesn't love a little "Hostel" movie spliced in with "The Hangover", cause that's the way we would be required to roll em up

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Principal
5.2  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  Bob Nelson @5    6 years ago
IMNAAHO, we need two general rules: - prohibition does not work, and - there is no crime without a victim (other than the perpetrator).

Agreed!

Make drugs available (pharmacies) at a logical price, and let people do as they please...

Well, there I am going to disagree, Bob. These people are ill, and we should be trying to help them get better. I think getting it from pharmacies takes out the gang aspect, but we should be focusing on getting them help too. 

 
 
 
Bob Nelson
Professor Guide
5.2.1  Bob Nelson  replied to  Perrie Halpern R.A. @5.2    6 years ago

Are they more ill than the people whom we allow to kill themselves in other ways?

An alcoholic is ill, too.

Maybe we should be doing more for all the forms of self-destruction... but I don't see why we should single out drugs.

 
 
 
Dean Moriarty
Professor Quiet
5.3  Dean Moriarty  replied to  Bob Nelson @5    6 years ago

This is rare but I agree with Bob 100% on this one. Allow them the same freedom to use the opioids that George Washington and Ben Franklin used to alleviate their pain. Government prohibition is once again doing more harm than good. 

 
 
 
It Is ME
Masters Guide
8  It Is ME    6 years ago

"than with the social toxins that are bleeding silently through our communities."

The societal toxin is this wave of "Safe Spaces" and "Your not responsible" ….. Period !

When one allows that, and even touts that mantra.....it won't get better, as the "Real" World isn't, and NEVER HAS BEEN,  a friggin "safe space" for EVERYONE. 

 
 
 
Hal A. Lujah
Professor Guide
9  Hal A. Lujah    6 years ago

Legalizing highly addictive hard drugs such that they can be picked up at the local pharmacy is a recipe for disaster.  An addict cannot stop at a dose that someone arbitrarily will call reasonable.  They stop when they are dead.  If you don't give them as much as they want (which in their head is what they need) , then they will go find what they want by illegal means.  You've solved nothing.

 
 
 
Dean Moriarty
Professor Quiet
9.3  Dean Moriarty  replied to  Hal A. Lujah @9    6 years ago

Plenty of addicts have been able to control their doses and live long productive lives just like Ray Charles did. 

 
 
 
Hal A. Lujah
Professor Guide
9.3.1  Hal A. Lujah  replied to  Dean Moriarty @9.3    6 years ago

I respectfully disagree.  If that is true, they are a extreme fringe of users.  I've known a number of users.  They all fall into the categories of rehabilitated, criminal, or dead.

 
 
 
Dean Moriarty
Professor Quiet
9.3.2  Dean Moriarty  replied to  Hal A. Lujah @9.3.1    6 years ago

There are literally hundreds of thousands of chronic pain sufferers that have been taking prescription opioids for years and you would never know it. Many of them never exceed their recommended doses or go looking for street drugs. 

In fact both buprenorphine and methadone are opioids and are used to treat drug addiction. 
 
 
 
Hal A. Lujah
Professor Guide
9.3.3  Hal A. Lujah  replied to  Dean Moriarty @9.3.2    6 years ago

They have a reason to use them.  This is about recreations use.  There's a big difference.  And still there are millions of people who will tell you that their pain meds led to their dependence, which led to their resorting to street heroin.

My daughter was telling me the other day about a guy she met who is in recovery.  There is a huge problem with college sports right now, where players are pushed too far, and they end up hurt.  They get fed opiates without any regard for the risk, then if they become dependent the team just discards them like a banana peel and moves on to the next recruit.

 
 
 
Dean Moriarty
Professor Quiet
9.3.4  Dean Moriarty  replied to  Hal A. Lujah @9.3.3    6 years ago

Yes I agree and I’m not an advocate for hard drug use and agree there is a big problem out there. 

 
 
 
Bob Nelson
Professor Guide
9.4  Bob Nelson  replied to  Hal A. Lujah @9    6 years ago
Legalizing highly addictive hard drugs such that they can be picked up at the local pharmacy is a recipe for disaster.

That's a theoretical position. Meanwhile, we have concrete evidence that prohibition isa disaster.

 
 
 
sandy-2021492
Professor Expert
9.5  sandy-2021492  replied to  Hal A. Lujah @9    6 years ago

I also see this as a disaster for prescribing physicians.  "Pill mill" doctors are already being sued or incarcerated when their patients die from overdoses.  If we legalize narcotics on demand, are we going to ensure that the physicians and pharmacists who provide access to those drugs are held harmless for the results of taking those drugs?  No suing doctors whose patients OD?  No suing pharmacists who fill prescriptions for people who immediately get in a car and kill a family of four?

 
 

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