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Opioid Crisis

Carmine Digiulio

Sinclair Community College

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Opioid Crisis

Introduction

Substance use is one of the leading categories of mental illness, especially among males.

Generally speaking, substance use peaked in the 1970s but has declined since. Nevertheless,

college students (ages 18-25) are the highest user groups, and the Opioid crisis has been

considered an epidemic. PCP and Ecstasy (MDMA) are more commonly used today because

they cost less than cocaine or heroin. Stress can lead to substance use, and stress-related

disorders are the leading causes of death in the United States of America.

Through the article, I have been able to learn various vital things concerning Opioid

Crisis. I have learned about substance disorders and different types of substance disorders,

depressants, the multiple types of depressants and their effects and stimulants, including their

classes and how they can be misused. Throughout the article, substance abuse has a diverse

impact on human health, leading to death.

I can testify that Opioid Crisis is real. Three weeks ago, I lost my niece aged 32 years.

Although she seemed to have overcome it for the past three years, in reality, things were

different. Her death remains a painful one. She left behind a fifteen years old son and two year

old daughter which my my husband and I are now raising. It has been a sad unexpected loss to

the whole family.

Over-dependence on opioids leads to addiction. The duration and history of people using

opioids might be complicated factors to tell who eventually turns out to be an opioid addict.

Among the many outlined factors, some are easy to change while others can not be changed.
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Some of the factors which can not be easily changed include a family history of substance abuse,

stressful circumstances in life and a history of severe depression, among others.

Reference

Dasgupta, N., Beletsky, L., & Ciccarone, D. (2018). Opioid crisis: no easy fix to its social and

economic determinants. American journal of public health, 108(2), 182-186.

Hser, Y. I., Evans, E., Grella, C., Ling, W., & Anglin, D. (2015). Long-term course of opioid

addiction. Harvard review of psychiatry, 23(2), 76-89.

Vadivelu, N., Kai, A. M., Kodumudi, V., Sramcik, J., & Kaye, A. D. (2018). The opioid crisis: a

comprehensive overview. Current pain and headache reports, 22(3), 1-6.