U.S. Opioids Crisis: A Call for Drastic Measures to Curb the Epidemic

The epidemiological response to the opioids crisis in the U.S necessitates a well-calculated response in addressing the witnessed increase in prescription opioids abuse. In the United States, the rise in death cases concerning drug and substance abuse incidences is at an alarming rate which has demanded the authorities to come up with drastic measures that could help curb the epidemic and bring it down to sustainable standards (Kolodny et al. 2015). Although death resulting from illegal substance abuse is also a common occurrence, this new era has seen a surge forward in the abuse of prescription drugs and mostly in the pain-relieving drugs i.e., opioids (Saloner et al. 2018). Opioids may be referred to as a class of drugs both legal and illegal such as heroin, morphine, fentanyl, codeine, etc. whose consumption is made legal via prescription by a certified medical practitioner for the purposes of pain relief in patients with either terminal illnesses or other painful conditions that may necessitate constant pain relievers.

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As a result, this has made the illegal drugs readily available in pharmacies, and other drug stores where individuals can access them with relative ease which has, in turn, led to the rampant abuse of these opioids nationwide. This has led to a chain reaction that has seen the number of deaths resulting from either overdose on these drugs or addiction affect the nation in a devastating manner (Dasgupta, Beletsky & Ciccarone, 2018). In the City of Baltimore in Maryland State, the opioids crisis is not any different from other regions in the country. Statistics show that in the year 2017, there was a total of 761 deaths resulting from drug and substance abuse, of which 692 were as a result of opioid abuse-related incidences.

The epidemiology of opioids abuse has been observed to exhibit a particular trend in the distribution and frequency in the occurrence of pain-relieving drugs abuse. In more prosperous states such as Maryland, Connecticut, Hawaii, among others have witnessed a higher record of opioids crisis as compared to other states with lower GDP,s. This could be attributed to the different lifestyles that the inhabitants in the various states are exposed to. Higher GDP per country indicates a more senior working population (Stone et al. 2017).

As medical research has indicated, practitioners have come up with a study that has reported a high relationship between works related stress and therefore the likelihood of indulgence in pain-relieving drugs to curb fatigue, and general body pains may come along. Another factor leading to the observed epidemiology of the opioids crisis in these high GDP states could be attributed to the ready availability of their purchasing power, which enables the consumers to buy the drugs at their convenience.

Although strict measures are usually placed governing the purchase of opioids, there are various fraudulent means that either the sellers engage in to realize a profit, thereby ending up endangering the lives of their clients. Drug stores nationwide are required to be operated by licensed practitioners, and for a client to purchase these drugs, they are required to have a prescription by their doctors (Makary, Overton & Wang, 2017). In Baltimore for instance, the overdose rates are the highest than in any other state in the U.S. Among some of the contributing factors to the crisis in the city could be attributed to the social-economic setting in the region that has seen more and more of those above 65 years of age retiring in the state of Maryland opting to settle in Baltimore (Cepeda et al. 2017). Their genuine need for opioids is therefore exploited by other individuals in the region who end up abusing these drugs and overdosing.

Baltimore's City response to the opioids crisis

Concerning the experienced crisis regarding the opioids crisis, the city of Baltimore has decided to implement combative measures that will aid in the control of this pandemic. To start with, the BCHD, i.e., (Baltimore City Health Department) has come up with a three-stage agenda that will ensure that the case is addressed most appropriately.

The first step in the combative measure includes the saving of lives with naloxone. This is an antidote medication that helps in reversing the harmful side effects of an opioid overdose by countering its impact and bringing the affected individual back to a state of normalcy.

Also, the health department in Baltimore has increased access to on-demand evidence-based practice. Here there is a common approach towards combating the opioids pandemic by ensuring that members of the public are well informed on the best way forward in handling a case of a drug overdose. This will aid in the administration of standard first aid procedures that could help buy time before the patient is attended to by a certified medical practitioner.

Similarly, Increase access to on-demand, evidence-based treatment by the city's health department endorses evidence-based medication-assisted treatment (MAT), along with social and wraparound services to treat the disease of opioid addiction (Humphreys, 2017). For more information on where to receive treatment, treatment programs and partnerships, and specialized care (Humphreys, 2017).

ReferencesCepeda, J. A., Beletsky, L., Sawyer, A., Serio-Chapman, C., Smelyanskaya, M., Han, J., ... & Sherman, S. G. (2017). Occupational safety in the age of the opioid crisis: needle stick injury among Baltimore police. Journal of urban health, 94(1), 100-103.

Dasgupta, N., Beletsky, L., & Ciccarone, D. (2018). Opioid crisis: no easy fix to its social and economic determinants. American journal of public health, 108(2), 182-186.

Humphreys, K. (2017). Avoiding globalization of the prescription opioid epidemic. The Lancet, 390(10093), 437-439.

Kolodny, A., Courtwright, D. T., Hwang, C. S., Kreiner, P., Eadie, J. L., Clark, T. W., & Alexander, G. C. (2015). The prescription opioid and heroin crisis: a public health approach to an epidemic of addiction. Annual review of public health, 36, 559-574.

Makary, M. A., Overton, H. N., & Wang, P. (2017). Overprescribing is a significant contributor to the opioid crisis.

Saloner, B., McGinty, E. E., Beletsky, L., Bluthenthal, R., Beyrer, C., Botticelli, M., & Sherman, S. G. (2018). A public health strategy for the opioid crisis. Public Health Reports, 133(1_suppl), 24S-34S.

Stone, A. B., Wick, E. C., Wu, C. L., & Grant, M. C. (2017). The US opioid crisis: a role for enhanced recovery after surgery. Anesthesia & Analgesia, 125(5), 1803-1805.