Last spring, in a three-part series, Allison Rutz assessed the scope of the opioid crisis in America. The series also analyzed the long-term policies in place to combat the failure of America’s health system to provide treatment to addicts. While long-term problems and proposed solutions will be critical to addressing the opioid epidemic, there are […]
Opioid Epidemic
Treatment in a Failing Healthcare System
This article is part three in a series. Find the first part here and the second here. As I have already discussed in this series, opioids can have a detrimental effect on towns and communities. By now, we know the effects of opioids, but our country’s current healthcare system makes treatment options inaccessible and inefficient. The most realistic approach […]
Race and Inconsistent Drug Policies
This piece, which will focus on the dynamic of race in drug systems, is the second of three articles dedicated to the social and political aspects of the opioid epidemic. Many politicians and officials have proclaimed that opioid drug addiction is “non-discriminatory,” in that it affects people of all demographics. But before the epidemic became […]
Small Towns, Big Problems
Over the course of a decade, the opioid epidemic has crept into our homes, schools, and neighborhoods, disrupting communities, destroying lives, and leaving users stuck in a never-ending cycle. It has contributed to the deaths of twenty-seven thousand people each year, surpassing cocaine as the leading cause of drug related deaths in the United States. […]