You might believe that you’ll never be affected by the opioid epidemic that has taken over the United States in recent years, but it’s important to remember that it could impact a loved one. If you’re going to help out a friend or family member struggling with addiction, you need to understand the bigger picture. In this blog, our drug addiction treatment specialists will review a few facts and figures to help you better comprehend the opioid crisis in the US.
How Did We Get Here?
The first wave of deaths linked to prescribed opioid use started in the 1990s when OxyContin, an FDA-approved drug, started to be prescribed as a painkiller, but people began abusing the drug. The death toll from opioids has nearly quadrupled since 1999, and deaths from heroin have tripled since 2010. From 1999–2019, there have been approximately 500,000 deaths because of opioid abuse.
The Effects Are Staggering
Every day, 90 Americans, on average, die from an opioid overdose. This epidemic devastates communities across the country, but it’s not just opioids like heroin and fentanyl causing this devastation. Plenty of Americans are still dying from abusing prescribed painkillers as well. There are safe alternatives to using prescription drugs for managing chronic pain. Prescription drug abuse costs over $600 billion annually in healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, law enforcement, and the criminal justice system.
What Can We Do?
How we solve the crisis and what risks society is willing to take is a question that still stands. There are no easy answers, but there are a few options. The first idea is to make prescription opioids harder to get. Patients should be required to sign consent forms for using opioids and be screened for drug abuse before receiving prescriptions. Suboxone doctors believe this will help because it limits availability. Another option is to educate individuals on substance abuse and encourage them to enroll in recovery programs.
Fight Off Drug Addiction In Baltimore With Our Help
Our specialists at MD M.A.T.T offer medication-assisted treatment that reduces the withdrawal symptoms you experience, along with drug therapy and counseling. With the help of technology, we help our patients bring a systematic change with fewer relapses and keep track of their progress. We offer suboxone and buprenorphine treatments that help block the euphoric effects of drugs in our brains and normalize the chemical reaction in the brain. Our suboxone doctors in Owing Mills equip you with coping skills during recovery, ensuring fewer relapses. Get in touch with us today to learn more.
