A presidential declaration of emergency is needed, and failure to take action is not an option.
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By Susan Blumenthal, M.D. and Emily Kaplan
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Drug overdoses continued to increase significantly in the first nine months of 2016 despite increasing public awareness.
In the United States, the overall rate of opioid overdoses in that year reached an all-time high of 10.3/100,000 people, but the epidemic has hit some areas of the country far harder than others.
A study published earlier this week in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reports that the number of drug overdoses between 2008-2014 involving opioids was likely underestimated by 24% and heroin overdoses were likely underestimated by 22%. The economic cost of opioid use in America is an estimated $78.5 billion annually. In communities hit hard by the opioid epidemic, each day brings more babies born addicted to this substance because their mothers used the drug during pregnancy, sends more children with addicted parents into the foster care system, and sentences more drug offenders to overflowing jails. A multitude of health complications affecting multiple organ systems – such as hepatitis, HIV and cardiovascular problems – can occur as a result of opioid use.
“It is a tragedy for my state of Vermont. It is a tragedy all over this country. The opioid abuse epidemic in our country is a public health emergency that must be addressed. In 2016 alone, drug overdoses likely killed more Americans in one year than the entire Vietnam War,” -- U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders.
