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There is an ongoing opioid epidemic (also known as the opioid crisis) in the United States, originating out of both medical prescriptions and illegal sources. The epidemic began in the United States in the late 1990s, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), when opioids were increasingly prescribed for pain management, resulting in a rise in overall opioid use throughout subsequent years. In the United States, there were approximately 109,600 drug-overdose-related deaths in the 12-month period ending January 31, 2023, at a rate of 300 deaths per day. From 1999 to 2020, nearly 841,000 people died from drug overdoses, with prescription and illicit opioids responsible for 500,000 of those deaths. In 2017 alone, there were 70,237 recorded drug overdose deaths; of those deaths, 47,600 involved an opioid. A report from December 2017 estimated that 130 people die every day in the United States due to opioid-related drug overdose. The great majority of Americans who use prescription opioids do not believe that they are misusing them. The problem is significantly worse in rural areas, where socioeconomic variables, health behaviors, and accessibility to healthcare are responsible for a higher death rate. Teen use of opioids has been noticeably increasing, with prescription drugs used more than any illicit drug except cannabis: more than cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine combined. Background Opioids are a diverse class of strong, addictive, and inexpensive drugs, which include opiates (i.e., morphine and codeine), oxycodone (OxyContin, Percocet), hydrocodone (Vicodin, Norco), and fentanyl. Traditionally, opioids have been prescribed for pain management, as they are effective for treating acute pain but are less effective for treating chronic pain. Clinical guidelines advise that opioids should only be used for chronic pain if safer alternatives are not feasible, as their risks often outweigh their benefits. The potency and availability of opioids have made them popular as both medical treatments and recreational drugs. In 2018, the U.S. opioid prescription rate was 51.4 prescriptions per 100 people, equivalent to more than 168 million total opioid prescriptions. However, these substances also have high risks of addiction and overdose, and long-term use can cause tolerance and physical dependence. When people continue to use opioid medications beyond what a doctor prescribes, whether to minimize pain or induce euphoric feelings, it can mark the beginning stages of an opioid addiction. Also, in 2018, after being prescribed an opioid medication, about 10.3 million people ended up misusing it, and 47,600 people died from an overdose. More than 650,000 Americans have died of drug overdoses since the opioid epidemic began. Waves of the opioid epidemic The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describe the U.S. opioid epidemic as having arrived in three waves. However, recent research indicates that since 2016, the United States has been experiencing the fourth wave of the opioid epidemic. The epidemic began with the overprescription and abuse of prescription drugs. However, as prescription drugs became less accessible in 2016 in response to CDC opioid prescribing guidelines, there was an increase in demand and accessibility to cheaper, illicit alternatives to opioids such as heroin and fentanyl. First wave The first wave, which marked the start of the epidemic, began in the 1990s due to the push towards using opioid medications for chronic pain management and the increased promotion by pharmaceutical companies for medical professionals to use their opioid medications. During this time, around 100 million people in the United States were estimated to be affected by chronic pain; however, opioids were only reserved for acute pain experienced secondary to cancer or terminal illnesses. Physicians avoided prescribing opioids for other medical conditions because of the lack of evidence supporting their use, the concern of opioids having addictive properties, and the fear of being investigated or disciplined for liberal opioid practices. However, in 1980, a letter to the editor featured in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) challenged these notions. The letter advocated for more liberal use of opioids in pain management, which the World Health Organization eventually supported. In addition, medical organizations began to push for more attentive physician responses to pain, referring to pain as the "fifth vital sign." This was coupled with the promotion of opioids by pharmaceutical companies who insisted that patients could not become addicted. Opioids became an acceptable treatment for a wide variety of conditions, leading to a consistent increase in opioid prescriptions. From 1990 to 1999, the total number of opioid prescriptions grew from 76 million to approximately 116 million, making them the most prescribed class of medications in the United States. Mirroring the positive trend in the volume of opioid pain relievers prescribed is an increase in admissions for substance use disorder treatments and opioid-related deaths. This illustrates how legitimate clinical prescriptions of pain relievers are being diverted through an illegitimate market, leading to misuse, addiction, and death. With the increase in volume, the potency of opioids also increased. By 2002, one in six drug users was prescribed drugs more powerful than morphine; by 2012, the ratio had doubled to one in three. The most commonly prescribed opioids have been oxycodone and hydrocodone. Second wave The second wave of the opioid epidemic began around 2010 and is characterized by the surge in heroin use and overdose deaths. Between 2005 and 2012, the number of people who used heroin nearly doubled, growing from 380,000 to 670,000 individuals. In 2010, there were 2,789 fatal heroin overdoses, representing an almost 50% increase compared to previous years. This sharp increase can be attributed to the availability of heroin in the United States and its decreasing prices, which enticed a significant portion of individuals already dependent on opioids to switch to a more potent and cost-effective alternative. During this same period, there was also a reformulation of OxyContin that made it more difficult to crush and misuse, although the precise impact of this reformulation on the rise in heroin use remains uncertain. Third wave According to the CDC, the third wave of the opioid epidemic began in 2013; and concluded in 2016. This wave coincided with a significant increase in overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids, particularly illegally produced fentanyl. During this period, deaths related to prescription opioids increased marginally, while heroin-related deaths remained relatively stable. The demographic affected during this wave was younger, less frequently male, and more likely to be white and rural compared to the previous waves. However, it's worth noting that the thir.... Discover the Valena Beety popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Valena Beety books.