The early Opioid Crisis started off with the overprescription of the pharmaceutical drug, OxyContin to address American’s “pain epidemic.” Since then, the opioid crisis has evolved to encompass heroin and more recently, synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Significant death counts associated with each of these types of drugs correspond to the three waves of the opioid crisis.

Opioids are highly addictive drugs and potentially fatal if misabused. Ever since the beginning of the opioid crisis, death counts have consistently increased starting in the low thousands per year to now almost 50,000 a year as of 2017.  Although the problem is nationwide, key regions have been identified as the hardest hit. Appalachia, the Northeast, and Central regions of the United States have been the most impacted, especially in the wake of fentanyl. 

 

New medications are available to address the crisis, including opioid agonists meant to slowly wean individuals out of opioid use and opioid antagonists like naloxone that can effectively counteract overdoses. Advocates have called for harm reduction methods like provision of clean needles to maximize the safety of users and prevent infection. Although these are acknowledged as more effective, medical treatment and harm reduction methods have historically not been used in favor of traditional policing methods and abstinence methods. The latter two involve high arrest rates for opioid possession and use and forced detox in correctional facilities. However, this can actually lead to deaths post-release as individuals may have lower tolerance and are used to a certain dosage. 

 

Due to the severity of the crises, states, counties, and cities have been fighting back against the executives of the pharmaceutical companies, including Purdue Pharma, the producer of OxyContin, who have produced and dangerously promoted the drugs. We are now in the midst of a legal battle between these groups. A sizeable settlement has been proposed by these pharmaceutical companies, but whether this is enough financial reparation to fully compensate the victims themselves and their families is largely debatable.