The Opioid Crisis

THE OPIOID CRISIS

Committee Co-Chairs: Van Anh Tran and Joanne Biju

The Opioid Epidemic has significantly impacted the United States, with the US. Department of Health and Human Services stating that over 130 people in the nation pass every day from opioid overdose. As of late, a leading pharmaceutical company, Johnson & Johnson has been tried and charged $572 million in a lawsuit brought forth by Oklahoma. The company was accused and convicted of false advertising and aggressive marketing that consequently led to rising rates of opioid exposure, addiction and death.

The Opioid crisis has not only had a dangerous effect on the United States, but it has brought forth widespread international concern as well. In fact, ⅔ of drug deaths globally are from opioids. This issue has a variety of sources, including synthetic opioid production in China, that come into nations like the U.S. through overseas trafficking. This has a global effect on both adults and youth, from infancy to teenage years.

There isn’t enough being done to prevent opioid misuse from leaching into systems, and to treat those affected by these drugs. In this committee, we’ll be tackling this issue from the perspective of our countries at the CT World Affairs Council simulation. We’ll be able to discuss and debate with representatives of other countries on what the best solutions are to this crisis; keeping factors like the economy and resources in mind, not every country will feel the same way.

Here’s some more info:

• What are opioids? fentanyl, heroin, morphine, vicodin, oxycontin, and other drugs that have morphine-like effects and provides pain relief.
• Why do become addicted to opioids? Drug abuse can get rid of that “brake” that we have in our behavior
• Why should we care? This opioid epidemic that started in the U.S. has the possibility of spreading worldwide. The original pharma company, Purdue pharma, is now applying their dubious business methods in other foreign countries

Opioid Addiction

1. In 2016, more than 27 million people were affected by opioid addiction
2. It is a crisis because it started in 1995 by Purdue Pharma (pharmaceutical company) and encouraged the consumption of oxycontin drugs (downplayed addictive side)
   1. They paid for the lunches, vacations for doctors so that physicians were more inclined to prescribe oxycontin ⇒ increased profit
   2. American culture changed into a “me” culture, and more people were convinced by pharma company commercials
   3. Since 2001, the DEA has reported that controlled prescription drugs has become the number one cause of overdose
   4. Once people get addicted and physicians refuse to prescribe ⇒ people go to the streets ⇒ get addicted to heroin ⇒ fentanyl is laced in with the street heroin and kills more people
3. The economic burden of prescription opioid misuse alone leads to 78.5 billion dollars a year
4. Between 2007 and 2012, pharma/drug distributors sent more than 780 million hydrocodone and oxycodone into West Virginia which roughly equals 433 pills for every man, woman and child in the state,
5. Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS): babies of drug-addicted moms are born with withdrawal symptoms :(. Symptoms include tremors, hyperactive reflexes, seizures
6. Pharma lobbied the govt for reduced DEA influence/regulation and Congress OK’d. Also, Pharma began hiring people away from DEA to slow them down.
7. “Oxycodone counties”- in the top fifty dispensing practitioners in the U.S., 49 are in Florida (where all the old people are lol)
8. Naloxone- the only way to curb this problem is to get people into rehabilitation, but the only way to reverse an overdose is through naloxone (either through nasal or injection). Pharmacists can now prescribe naloxone if patients are prescribed a lot of opioids

Helpful Links

Learn more about the Opioid Crisis: https://www.cnn.com/2017/09/18/health/opioid-crisis-fast-facts/index.html

Look into Johnson & Johnson’s recent trial: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/26/health/oklahoma-opioids-johnson-and-johnson.html

The World Health Organization’s overview of opioid overdose: https://www.who.int/substance_abuse/information-sheet/en/