Respond to at least two of your colleagues* on two different days by expanding on their response and providing an example that supports their explanation or respectfully challenging their explanation and providing an example.
There continues to be an opioid crisis in the United States. This started in the late 1990s when pharmaceutical companies assured the medical community that Americans were not going to become addicted to opioids. Trusting the pharmaceutical companies, medical providers began prescribing more and more opioids to treat certain conditions. These types of drugs began to be misused and proved to be highly addictive, contrary to the information provided. In 2017, over 47,000 Americans died of opioid overdoses and the same year about 1.7 million Americans suffered from substance abuse disorders related to prescription pain killers (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2021). In October of 2017, Trump directed the Department of Health and Human Services to declare the opioid crisis a public health emergency, which lead to the use of telehealth through which providers treated patients in rural communities.
New reports indicated that there were no changes in policy to address this crisis (The Trump Administration’s Response to the Opioid Epidemic – American Oversight, n.d.). The Trump Administration was less than aggressive to tackle this issue that affected so many Americans. It wasn’t until almost 2 years after the state of emergency was issued that the Trump Administration pledged $1.8 million to combat the opioid crisis. This occurred as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced more deaths involving opioids. It was found by the National Safety Council in January of 2019 that Americans were more likely to die from opioid overdoses than car accidents (The Trump Administration’s Response to the Opioid Epidemic – American Oversight, n.d.). That is truly scary. However, the Biden Administration took a more aggressive approach to take on the opioid crisis.
The American Rescue Plan invested more than $4 billion to allow the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and Health Resources and Services Administration to increase access to important mental health and substance abuse services. The HHS announced the Overdose Prevention Strategy, which focused on increasing primary prevention, reducing harm, evidence-based treatment, and recovery support services for all U.S. citizens (FACT SHEET: Actions the Biden-Harris Administration Has Taken to Address Addiction and the Overdose Epidemic, 2021). This was just a couple of actions taken during this administration. The Biden Administration’s approach was more appropriate. My actions would have been similar.This administration seems to have tackled the opioid crisis from various angles. Prevention is very important in this crisis. However, supporting Americans as they recover is crucial as well.
References
FACT SHEET: Actions the Biden-Harris Administration has Taken to Address Addiction and the Overdose Epidemic. (2021, November 17). The White House. https://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/briefing-room/2021/11/17/fact-sheet-actions-the-biden-harris-administration-has-taken-to-address-addiction-and-the-overdose-epidemic/ National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2021). Opioid Overdose Crisis. National Institute on Drug Abuse. https://nida.nih.gov/drug-topics/opioids/opioid-overdose-crisis ‌ The Trump Administration’s Response to the Opioid Epidemic – American Oversight. (n.d.). Www.americanoversight.org. https://www.americanoversight.org/investigation/trump-administrations-response-opioid-epidemic
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Hello. Thanks for the insightful discussion. From your analysis, I have learned that opioid crisis started in the late 1990s when pharmaceutical companies assured the medical community that Americans were not going to become addicted to opioids. The opioid crisis has been ongoing due to the lack of strict policies. However, on October 26th 2017, President Trump officially declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency. This was a significant and necessary step in battling what has become a nationwide epidemic. all fifty states have been impacted by this growing problem, with over 64,000 people dying from drug overdoses in 2016 alone (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2021).
The declaration allows for increased access to treatment and prevention services, as well as more funds to be allocated towards research and education surrounding addiction and recovery. It also gives law enforcement officials greater leeway in going after drug dealers and traffickers. The hope is that by declaring the opioid crisis a public health emergency, we can begin to turn the tide on this epidemic. The Biden Administration took a number of actions to address the opioid crisis. Some key initiatives include: -Launching the National Drug Control Strategy, which focuses on three goals: reducing drug demand, stopping illicit drug supply and reducing drug-related consequences (Jaffe, 2017). -Expanding access to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. -Developing a five-point strategy to reduce opioid overdose deaths, which includes increasing access to naloxone, expanding evidence-based prevention and treatment programs, supporting research on pain and addiction, improving data collection and analysis, and advancing public/private partnerships.
Besides, Trump and Biden administration, the Obama-Biden Administration responded to the opioid crisis with a series of targeted initiatives. In October 2015, the Vice President traveled to Columbus, Ohio, to announce a new public and private sector partnership to address the epidemic. The initiative included more than $1 billion in new funding to support prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts (Zolot, 2017). In March 2016, the Administration announced that it would expand access to naloxone—a drug that can reverse an opioid overdose—nationwide. This effort involved training more than 50,000 first responders and others on how to use naloxone and increasing its availability in communities.
References
Jaffe, S. (2017). Trump administration begins to confront the opioid crisis. The Lancet, 390(10108), 2133-2134. https://www.patrickjkennedy.net/app/uploads/2017/11/Lancet-111117.pdf
National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2021). Opioid Overdose Crisis. National Institute on Drug Abuse. https://nida.nih.gov/drug-topics/opioids/opioid-overdose-crisis
Zolot, J. (2017). A worsening opioid epidemic prompts action. AJN The American Journal of Nursing, 117(10), 15. https://journals.lww.com/ajnonline/Fulltext/2017/10000/A_Worsening_Opioid_Epidemic_Prompts_Action.7.aspx