Hello class!
This article I found today has a lot of interesting facts about the crisis. Seeing that it is the first post I figured it was a good place to start the conversation. At the bottom of the article there are links to other articles if anyone would like more information. It is shocking how many people are affected by the crisis. How aware were all of you to this crisis prior to yesterdays class? Honestly I wasn't that aware.
https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/opioids/opioid-overdose-crisis
It is devastating how drug-users are always searching for the next best high. Over the years we can see these people are turning to more dangerous, synthetic drugs, such as fentanyl and K2.
ReplyDeleteMore facts are being proven about the benefits of natural, alternative medicine in marijuana, however, it seems our government constantly turns its cheek to the crisis at hand. Sad!
I have been moderately aware of the drug crisis in America, but I had no idea the degree of harm it is doing to communities like Dayton, OH. The part I find interesting is the political ramifications of the crisis. Trump has been outspoken throughout his campaign about the punishments involving drug dealers. But how many people need to die in order for this to start effecting election results of local/ state politicians if the community feels not enough is being done.
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ReplyDeleteI used to work as a medical scribe last year and I got a glimpse of this problem without even realizing it. I would constantly see patients come in with some type of chronic pain, and would need medications like Norco, Demorol, Vicodin, etc. The doctors would prescribe these medications without any hesitation, as long as the patients said it was a need. This shows the root of the problem: pharmaceutical companies and hospitals working hand in hand for big money
ReplyDeleteCrazy to think how easily patients can get these medications
DeleteI can honestly say I was much more aware of the heroin/street drug aspect of the epidemic, because multiple students from my high school overdosed on heroin while I was attending. I had also heard of fentanyl before class yesterday, but did not realize how common cutting street drugs with fentanyl was. I was unaware of the prescription side of the opioid crisis, and how doctors, pharma companies, and legislature all play into perpetuating the crisis. It was something that intrigued me from class and that I am excited to learn more about.
ReplyDeleteI knew that the crisis was occurring, but I was not aware of the extent to which it was affecting the population. The documentary we watched in class really opened my eyes to how large of an epidemic the opioid crisis truly is. I was not aware of the frequent use of fentanyl as well as the large demand for the drug.
ReplyDeleteThe majority of news on drugs we are provided with, generally focuses on marijuana. This is acting as a huge disservice as the opioid crisis has so many facets propelling it, from prescriptions to out of country pharmaceutical companies. It seems as if the opioid crisis is only gaining attention due to the growing number of deaths, which is unfortunate.
It is interesting where the attention continues to go when there are bigger problems.
DeletePrior to this class I was somewhat aware of the crisis. I grew up in a rural community that has a history of meth(amphetamine) production largely due to a large pharmaceutical company being in town and easy access to ingredients. But within the last few years heroin use has kept rising.
ReplyDeleteLike a few other people have mentioned, I was unaware of the prescription side of the epidemic. I think a big issue/misconception, at least in my viewpoint, with the opioid crisis is that people think that this only has to deal with illegal substances, when in reality prescription drugs play a large role in the crisis.
Due to it being the age of social media I have seen mention of the opioid crisis from time to time on Twitter. However, there has not been a lot of media coverage of this problem. Unfortunately, I think the sad reality is that not enough lives have been lost yet, for this epidemic to be treated for what it is. I think that as a country we have only recently gotten to a point where we are ready to stop treating the opioid crisis as taboo, and are ready to stop pretending that lives aren't being lost every day.
ReplyDeleteBefore yesterday, I cannot say that I was that aware of the extent of the crisis. I know that Jackson County has had a rise in opiod cases over the past few year and I even know families effected by these drugs. I did not know that the midwest has seen a 70% increase in overdoses. I think it comes down to educating the public that this is something that is happening in their community, whether is big cities or small rural areas. They need to know that this crisis is not going to go away overnight and people they care about could be at risk of starting a deadly addiction. Nobody is immune.
ReplyDeleteI had been aware of the crisis because it keeps getting brought up in Sociology classes at K. However, most of this previous exposure is through the lenses of the mistakes done by pharmaceutical companies in hiking prices of pain drugs, causing families to have to find access to substitutes (heroin etc.) which are cheaper and easier to find. It was very devastating to see how the crisis is caused by a system that seems to be oblivious to how corporate greed is destroying families, and how nothing is done in regards to the funding of preventative care and awareness education.
ReplyDeleteI was aware that the crisis existed, but I did not realize how much worst it has gotten over the past couple of years. To see how this has torn about some communities is staggering. I read Matthew Ryder's in the fall, where he discussed how counterproductive our justice system can be towards this issue. This article and the film added a ton of background to his work.
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