The opioid problem in the United States has reached epidemic proportions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC reports that since 1999, deaths involving the use of opioids, including prescription drugs and heroin, has quadrupled. Figures reveal that more than 500,000 have died from overdoses since 2000. Ninety-one die each day from this scourge that has spread across America, filtering into all economic classes.
Every day when I pick up my daily newspaper, the State Journal in Frankfort, Ky., I read about drug arrests and overdoses, sometimes covering nearly a page in court news. Check out this story from last June about the increase in opioid deaths. Frankfort is the state capital, the fourth smallest in the nation with a population of about 28,000.
The CDC also notes that each day more than 1,000 people are treated in emergency departments nationally for misusing prescription opioids.
Kentucky has addressed the problem with legislative initiatives to curtail the abuse of opioids and use of heroin in recent years. The state Office of Drug Control Policy reports that more than 1,000 Kentuckians die each year from overdoses. Furthermore, Kentucky ranks in the top three, along with New Hampshire and West Virginia in opioid deaths.
My latest novel, "Darkness Beyond the Light," concerns drug addiction as it affects a family. I hope it brings more attention, more discussion, and more action to the problem as an increasing number of people are touched by this deadly disease.
To learn more about opioids and other drugs, read the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's fact sheets.
Until the next time. . . .
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