Addressing the Opioid Crisis: Potential Solutions

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A young mother suffers a heroin overdose. She lays lifeless amid the aisle of a Massachusetts Family Dollar, and the cries of her daughter erupt upon social media, for a bystander recorded the distressing incident. A hopeful young man, one week following his rehabilitation discharge, died inside of his Colorado home, overdosing on sedatives and opioids. (The Opioid Crisis, Peter Katel). The heroin and opioid crisis continually fluctuates within the United States, and many experts contemplate whether unique programs and medical institutions can provide for these abusers and evade a steady growth in the opioid epidemic. Concepts to reduce the opioid crisis include promoting awareness of opioid history, establishing safe-injection sites, advocating …show more content…

Celebrities including Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, and Prince died under the influence of heroin or opioids. Aside from celebrity drug-related deaths or trending videos, when does the media accurately cover an article regarding these drugs and their consequences? Raising awareness and educating people about the dangers of opioid abuse, especially through the media, may assist in decreasing the opioid dilemma. Greg Williams, co-founder of “Facing Addiction,” presented the concept that the media does not accurately portray every individual carded as an “addict” or an “alcoholic,” stating, “The language that we use in our media … often creates this sense of, ‘Well, that's not me’” (Katel). Moreover, addiction needs to face an accurate and relatable portrayal, instead of withholding stereotypes. If all individuals, addicts included, do not receive an appropriate, unbiased education regarding the dangers of opioid addiction, the bias associated with addiction shall rise, and opioids shall continue to impact a wide array of lives. Informing individuals of opioid abuse could promote abstinence; however, inappropriate media coverage and ineffective teaching methods will not aid or admonish the opioid

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