Experts say the United States is in the throes of an opioid epidemic.
It was already a national crisis but experts fear Covid-19 could be making things worse.
Walk-in clinics and syringe exchange programs have been closed. Community support groups are meeting virtually.
Some who struggle with substance abuse are homeless or incarcerated and can't comply with social distancing guidelines, while those who can are left isolated and at risk. On top of all that, the pandemic is causing massive stress — a primary driver of relapse.
Some facts about the opioid epidemic:
- An estimated 10.1 million Americans aged 12 and older misused opioids in 2019, including 9.7 million prescription pain reliever abusers and 745,000 heroin users.
- Opioids are drugs formulated to replicate the pain-reducing properties of opium. Prescription painkillers like morphine, oxycodone and hydrocodone are opioids. Illegal drugs like heroin and illicitly made fentanyl are also opioids. The word “opioid” is derived from the word “opium.”
- In 2018, there were 67,367 overdose deaths in the United States and 46,802 of those overdose deaths involved opioids.
Common opioids include:
- Opioids such as morphine and codeine are naturally derived from opium poppy plants more commonly grown in Asia, Central America and South America. Heroin is an illegal drug synthesized from morphine.
- Hydrocodone and oxycodone are semi-synthetic opioids, manufactured in labs with natural and synthetic ingredients.
- Fentanyl is a fully synthetic opioid, originally developed as a powerful anesthetic for surgery. It is also administered to alleviate severe pain associated with terminal illnesses like cancer. The drug is up to 100 times more powerful than morphine. Just a small dose can be deadly. Illicitly produced fentanyl has been a driving factor in the number of overdose deaths in recent years.
- Methadone is another fully synthetic opioid. It is commonly dispensed to recovering heroin addicts to relieve the symptoms of withdrawal.
You can read more about the opioid crisis here.
If you or a loved one are suffering from an opioid addiction, here are some resources to how you can get help.