Heroin and other opioids have continued to destroy the lives of millions of Americans every year. In 2015, Long Island alone had 208 fatal overdoses involving heroin, which was up from 163 deaths in 2014, and 149 in 2013 (health.ny.gov). This simple data shows that the problem is continuously growing at an even more rapid pace each year that passes. More needs to be done to combat this growing issue that has plagued the people of Long Island, as well as the rest of the nation because these numbers will continue to rise unless action is taken. This responsibility largely falls on the state and federal government to take the necessary steps to help bring down the increasing death tolls and help those who struggle with addiction find the help they need. We as a society also need to reform the way we think of people who use drugs and start thinking of them as victims rather than degenerates.
It is important to know what heroin is and why people use it before discussing it in depth. Heroin is derived from morphine and is most commonly used by injection, but can taken in different ways. People who use the drug are looking to get a strong "high" that cause the brain to release endorphins that it cannot naturally create without the drug. According to New Vista Behavioral Health, people tend to use the drug to escape reality and go into a euphoric state where their problems are not at the forefront. There are large physical risks including death that can occur when using heroin, but also psychological risks. A dependency can develop after multiple uses, which can worsen and move from mental addiction to physical dependency resulting in many painful and other unbearable symptoms. On paper, the negatives far outweigh the positives, but people are willing to risk their lives for a brief moment of not having to deal with the outside world ("Why Do People Use Heroin").
Heroin use has continued to grow as each year passes due to a number of reasons. According to the DEA, heroin with better purity is becoming more common on everyday streets, which they seem to be attributing to the rise of captures at the southern border of the United States. For a long time, many people who used heroin had been using a weaker purity form of heroin, so this upgrade from South America and Mexico has proven to be even more deadly. People who abuse legal drugs that can be received through prescription are starting to migrate towards heroin because the drug is famously cheaper and a lot easier to obtain than other pain killers such as OxyContin because a prescription is not needed. Using heroin is increasingly more dangerous than prescription pain killers because it is not regulated or tested to make sure it is pure and safe for human use, which makes the unpredictability of its purity and it contents most likely deadly. This information from VeryWellMind.com has shown that unless control is taken at the southern border of our country then anything we do within our country will be in vain because an outside power will push their cheaper, more deadly drugs (Fogoros).
I feel that as a first step in addressing this epidemic the stigma that heroin carries needs to be looked at from a different, more understanding perspective to build emotional support. This issue is largely important to me because of the personal connection I have to it. I have had family members struggle with substance abuse in the past, who had come close to dying, but they found the help they needed to recover and get their lives back on track. I believe that they have been successful in recovery so far because of the support from our family and friends. We did not treat them as black sheep or outcasts, our family took time to understand what they were going through and realized that they truly have a disease that is plaguing their minds. This is one of the larger issues that addicts face on the road to recovery and it can send them spiraling back down if they feel worthless. The social repercussions of heroin abuse have not been the same for all people. Recently, Demi Lovato, a successful singer and songwriter, overdosed on the drug and has not received the usual treatment an abuser typically would. Lovato was essentially praised for her use of the controlled substance (Lovece). Many, usually those who are not famous, face ridicule for using heroin, commonly referred to as junkies. This stigma that these victims of substance abuse face needs to be destroyed because without proper support to all people there is no motivation to get healthy and work towards a better life.
After around 600 opioid overdoses on Long Island in 2017, and 42,000 across all of America in 2016, both President Trump and Governor Cuomo have both stated that change is desperately needed. President Trump saying, "Never before has it been like it is now. It is terrible. We have to do something about it" (qtd. in Morales; O'Keeffe). In 2015, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo created a program that would give $8.1 million to combat drug abuse in New York. Cuomo says drug abuse is destroying families in New York and the main goal is to "ultimately save lives" (qtd. in governor.ny.gov). The plan was to spread over five years and the funding would be implemented in various communities across New York State mostly targeting people in the age range of 12 to 25-years-old. Media campaigns will also be a part of the program mostly for parents and steps they can take to prevent their children from experimenting with these deadly substances. Cuomo has labeled these media campaigns as the #CombatHeroin campaign. Probably the largely proponent of Governor Cuomo's program is the now increased availability of the drugs Narcan and Naloxone, which are used as antidotes for overdose victims. This increased availability also comes with more training programs on how to use the antidotes for parents or anybody that feels it is necessary to know these skills. It is a good sign to see that programs like these are taking precedent in the states office because it is one of the larger issues facing our communities. With the elections taking place in early November of 2018 it will be interesting to see if anything changes in regards to how a program like this is viewed and if the programs could face reform if there is a change in office ("Governor Cuomo Announces $8 Million to Combat Heroin and Prescription Drug Abuse Among Young Adults Statewide").
Change is not only being made at the state level, but also the federal. President Trump is making it a priority to address the opioid crisis that is facing these United States. Labeled as "The Crisis Next Door" the president is raising awareness by declaring September 16-23 as a Prescription Opioid and Heroin Awareness Week to address the people that have died because of illegal substances and keep others from having the same fate (qtd. in Carroll). Jim Carroll, Deputy Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, tells stories about parents who were unaware of how dangerous drugs, even legal ones received through prescriptions, could be until it was too late. "The Crisis Next Door" comes from the fact that many people have some kind of relation to this epidemic and it hits close to home for many. Donald Trump approved the Department of Health and Human Services to distribute over $1 billion throughout the nation. This money will be used to raise awareness, prevention of use, and addiction treatment. Trump's White House also created new training for first responders when they have to deal with opioid overdoses (Carroll).
Reform is also being made in the government, but in the law enforcement sector. Heroin, is already labeled as a Schedule I Drug, which means there is no potential use in medical practice and it is highly addictive (Walker). This classification means that any possession or use of heroin is illegal and can have harsh ramifications if arrested for that reason. On Long Island, Nassau County officials are calling for sticker sentences to be given to drug dealers connected to fatal overdoses caused by drugs that they sold. Laws were also put into place by Governor Cuomo to eliminate going from pharmacy to pharmacy to fill prescriptions, commonly known as "doctor shopping" ("Long Island Heroin Addiction Problem Continues to Grow"). With these crack downs, 766 arrests were made for heroin in Nassau County alone. Also, new technology is being created that can help to combat the spread of illegal substances. Patrick Ryder, Police Commissioner of Nassau County, introduced a new computer system that can track overdoses. With the information received from ODMAP, the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program, police can predict where distribution and manufacturing of illegal drugs is. ODMAP is accessible to first responders by means of a mobile application (Morales; O'Keeffe). Law enforcement continues to take steps in fighting the war on drugs, and with technology like ODMAP dangerous drugs could finally be taken off the streets and save numerous lives.
your essay in here…