Opioid Epidemic in Illinois

Opioid Epidemic in Illinois            

      In my previous posts, I have mentioned national statistics and even shared personal stories from people directly impacted from other areas within the United States.  This time around, I decided to check out specifics about Illinois.  In Illinois, more people have died from drug overdoses related to heroin and prescription opioids in 2014 than as a result of homicide or motor vehicle crashes (Illinois Department of Public Health [IDPH], 2017).  The Illinois drug overdose rate is 13.1 per 100,000 people.  This makes Illinois the 35^th ranked state for highest drug overdose rates (IDPH, 2017).  States worse than Illinois include Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.  Illinois was one of fourteen states to have a significant increase in drug overdose deaths between 2013 and 2014 (IDPH, 2017).  Cook County ranks first in the entire nation for the percentage of arrests related to opioid abuse.  The Chicago Metropolitan area is also ranked first in the nation for heroin use (IDPH, 2017).  Interstate 290 stretches from Chicago to Kane County where people of all socioeconomic statuses are traveling to Chicago’s west side as many as three times a day to purchase heroin (Casas, 2017).  Most of the heroin sold today has been mixed with fentanyl (Casas, 2017).  The problem with mixing heroin and fentanyl together is that there is no way to determine how much is heroin and how much is fentanyl (Casas, 2017).  Fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more deadly than heroin (Casas, 2017).  Coles County is among the highest of all counties in Illinois to have an increased number of emergency department visits related to opioid or heroin overdoses from 2010 to 2015 (IDPH, 2017).

References

Casas, Gloria. (2017) Heroin highway between Kane and Chicago thriving. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/news/ct-abn-aurora-heroin-st-0330-20170329-story.html

Illinois Department of Public Health. (2017). Prescription opioids and heroin Illinois department of public health data. Retrieved from http://www.dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/prevention wellness/prescription-opioids-and-heroin/idph-data

A Nationwide Drug Epidemic

A Nation Wide Drug Epidemic

An article printed from the New York Times offered several stories of people directly impacted by the opioid epidemic from the eastern parts of our nation to the far west portions.  Drugs, more specifically, heroin is coming across the US border from Mexico.  The cheaply made drug is concealed in vehicle engines, specially made compartments, suitcases, squeezed into hollowed out fire extinguishers, or strapped to the person who is trying to cross the border into America.  Anything that happens to slip by without getting caught travels down the highways and interstates to all parts of the US (Brauner, 2017). 

Have you ever heard of a “pill mill”?  I had not until this article mentioned there are bad doctors who hand prescription opioids out like candy.  Heroin smuggled into the US is also handed out in these “pill mills”.  Drug abuse has reached the point that in 2015, deaths as a result of drug overdose surpassed deaths as a result of gun violence (Brauner, 2017).

Katie Harvey, age 24, has been in and out of rehab eight times battling her heroin habit.  At this point, she is not shooting up to get a high.  She has to shoot up to avoid becoming dope sick.  Katie went from being an honor roll student in high school with model worthy features to an anorexic, alcoholic, who decided to try heroin for the first time at 21.  She mentioned she shoots up as many as 15 times a day.  Her drugs of choice include heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl.  She has pawned her mother’s jewelry and had sex with men for money to help support her drug habit (Brauner, 2017).

In another story, a man who wished to not be named was trying to get treatment for his drug addiction that has been a major expense on his life and finances.  This was his third time in rehab at just 33 years old.  He has a college education and is the son of two therapists. The young man mentioned he had previously smoked pot, used ecstasy and cocaine.  It was during his college years someone offered him heroin for the first time.  He smoked it once and quickly developed a habit costing about $20,000 a month to support (Brauner, 2017).

These are just the stories of a couple people directly impacted by the use and abuse of prescription opioids and heroin.  I think the author of this article did a great job removing personal bias by providing statistics and addressing that the opioid epidemic affects men and women all across the nation.  Allowing them to tell their personal stories about the struggles with opioid abuse makes for a more impacting read.

Reference:

Brauner, Scott. M. (2017). Inside a killer drug epidemic: a look at America’s opioid crisis. New            York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/06/us/opioid-crisis-epidemic.html

Opioid Use and Abuse: A Rudimentary Understanding

Opioid Use and Abuse: A Rudimentary Understanding

           It is hard to flip through a newspaper or watch the news without hearing something regarding the opioid epidemic impacting the United States today.  While there are plenty of statements and reports issued about the impact opioids are making on our communities, I can’t help but wonder how many people have an understanding of what opioids are and why this epidemic is so devastating.

            How many people know there are actually five classes or categories of controlled substances?  These classes are referred to as schedules.  Schedule five drugs have the lowest potential for abuse and can often be purchased over the counter without a prescription (American Academy of Pediatrics [AAP], 2015).  As the drug schedules lower in numbers, the potential for abuse increases.  Schedule two drugs have the highest potential for abuse but most are legal to use with prescription (AAP, 2015).  These drugs are considered the most dangerous legal drugs (AAP, 2015).  Examples of schedule two drugs include methadone, hydromorphone, oxycodone, fentanyl, and Adderall (AAP, 2015).  Examples of drugs that are considered schedule two but are illegal include cocaine and methamphetamine (AAP, 2015).  Schedule one drugs are not approved for any medical use today (with the exception of marijuana in certain states), as these have the highest potential for abuse and are very dangerous (AAP, 2015).  Schedule one drugs include heroin, ecstasy, and LSD (AAP, 2015).

            Now that the schedules of drugs are explained, it is important to know where opioids fall in these five categories.  When considering all five schedules of drugs, opioids are classified as schedule two drugs (AAP, 2015).  It is also important to understand opioids are the same thing as narcotics (American Association of Poison Control Centers [AAPCC], 2017).  So if you ever hear or read content regarding opioids or narcotics, just know they are the same.  Opioids are prescribed to treat severe pain, whether this pain be acute or chronic (AAPCC, 2017).  The more people take opioids, the greater the tolerance becomes, making the drug less effective (Volkow, 2014).  Without getting heavy into the science of how opioids work, the biggest thing to understand is while a person takes opioids, the brain stops producing endorphins (Volkow, 2014).  These endorphins that would be produced otherwise are responsible for making a person feel good (Volkow, 2014).  A deficiency in production means a greater chance at feeling depressed or sick (Volkow, 2014).  A depressed or sick person may feel a sense of relief by continued opioid use because the narcotics create a feeling of calmness (Volkow, 2014).  This should make it easier to understand the dangers of continued use, as it creates a greater potential for abuse.

            Despite numerous attempts to increase awareness about the opioid epidemic, statistics are worsening.  As the drug problem worsens, there is more evidence to indicate a strong relationship between opioid abuse and heroin use.  Prescription opioids and heroin have claimed more than 23,000 deaths a year (American Society of Addiction Medicine [ASAM], 2016).  While not everyone who uses heroin started from using opioids, about 45% of people addicted to heroin are also addicted to opioids (ASAM, 2016).  Adolescents ranging from ages 12-17 are the greatest opioid abusers (ASAM, 2016).  As if that is not alarming enough, of the 276,000 adolescents using prescription opioids, 122,000 have an addiction to the drugs (ASAM, 2016).  Opioid overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the US (ASAM, 2016).  With statistics this high, I think we can all quickly think of at least one person we know, whether it be friend or family, who struggles with opioid addiction or lost someone because of the struggles with addiction.  Addiction is a disease and it is affecting the lives of so many, so young.

           

References

American Academy of Pediatrics. (2015). Understanding drug schedules. Retrieved from             https://www.healthychildren.org/

American Association of Poison Control Centers. (2017). Opioid narcotic pain medication.           Retrieved from https://www.aapcc.org/alerts/opioids/

American Society of Addiction Medicine. (2016). Opioid addiction 2016 facts and figures.          Retrieved from https://www.asam.org/

Volkow, L. (2014). America’s addition to opioids: heroin and prescription drug abuse. National Institute on Drug Abuse. Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/