Among the many challenges that the 21st century has brought along with itself, the increasing drug crisis is one of the darkest shadows that it has presented us with. From teenagers to adults, the number of people addicted to opioids, especially heroin, is extremely high. Severe epidemics have hit the USA in the past century; from the one in 1970 to the latest in 2014. All of them have hit the nation hard. The recent wave of the heroin epidemic, as recent as August 2016, in Huntington and other areas has been reported to result in several cases of overdoses.
A fresh statistical research published by the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) states that drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the USA. In 2014, the number of reported lethal drug overdoses was 47,055. A good share of this huge figure is reported to be due to prescription opioids and heroin usage. Though opioids lead the death race, many people still choose to use heroin because it is far cheaper than opioids. About 94% of researched population reported this to be the reason for increased inclination towards heroin.
These figures have started a ripple of concerns among the concerned authorities, social support organizations and the nation in general. Though the government officials and people occupying prominent social positions strongly detest the overdose on drugs, this has had very little effect on the constant escalation in the number of people falling victim to heroin addiction and dying due to overdosing on them. Many research organizations are working to educate doctors and clinicians about the rising epidemic and possible safeguarding through naloxone, an antidote to heroin overdose. Encouragement to adopt medical assisted treatments is much more needed today than ever before.
It’s high time that fruitful and concrete measures are taken to protect the current and future generations from this lethal addiction. Women, men and children; people from all age groups and social backgrounds are falling victim to it with each passing day.