Opioid Crisis Affects Millions of Americans

Chris Daniel’s Kearney Junior High School Social Studies Class participated in a contest to submit a current events news story, with the winning article appearing on the KPGZ News page. Below is the winning article, submitted by Jak Gist.

The opioid crisis has had a serious effect on the lives of many Americans from big cities to small towns. The crisis has spread through all U.S. states causing many deaths, complications in pregnancies and abuse.

Opioids are a class of drugs found in nature from the opium producing poppy plant. The plant allows the brain to produce a variety of effects including and most commonly pain relief.

The opioid crisis started in 1991 when medical officers and doctors began to promote and offer up support for the pain relievers without advising patients that drugs like fentanyl, oxycodone, morphine, and hydrocodone were extremely addictive.

Within eight years the prescription drugs were being used for everything. This caused a rise in abuse, overuse and deaths from opioids. These drugs were commonly used and given out as a prescription, and they were used even after it wasn’t necessary.

Another wave of the crisis began in 2010 when restrictions began tightening. The unwanted consequences of that were thousands of people turning to the illegal street drug heroin, which is another opioid. The overdose death rate increased by an outstanding 286%.

2016 was the next rise in abuse and addiction, due to fentanyl becoming popular. Fentanyl is very addictive and even just a little bit can result in an overdose.

Although it has slowed down, the crisis is still a thing that affects many Americans. To avoid overdoses, addictions and lessen the opioid crisis is for doctors to spread awareness and for patients to ask questions when receiving a prescription. This will keep individuals informed about what the prescription is designed to do, and allows them know the side effects of the prescription.

Winning article, submitted by Jak Gist