The State of the Opioid Crisis in America:
The opioid crisis has reached epic proportions in the United States. But how did we get here? In the early 1990's, doctors started prescribing opioid medications for treating pain. Unfortunately, as these prescriptions increased, so did deaths from overdoses. As pharmaceutical companies adopted aggressive marketing techniques, claiming the possibility of addiction was very low, addiction rates increased. By 1999, doctors prescribed 86% of opioids for non-cancer pain.
Opioid Prescriptions Led to Increased Addiction
As opioid prescriptions increased, widespread abuse of both prescription and non-prescription opioids rose, and death rates from heroin use sharply increased. The rate of heroin addiction grew by 286% from 2002 to 2013. More than 80% of heroin users admitted that they abused prescription opioids before using heroin. Deaths from synthetic opioids like Fentanyl have also seen a sharp increase with 20,000 related deaths in 2016.In 2013, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued comprehensive guidelines for prescribing opioid medications, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared a public health emergency in 2017. While it is now evident that opioids are highly addictive, the medical community ignored the warning signs for far too long.
When Epidemics Collide: Opioid Abuse and COVID-19
Now, with the COVID-19 global pandemic happening, people with opioid addictions are struggling to find treatment. The pandemic has shut down many clinics and limited the capacity of others. Many group therapy sessions have shut down or moved online, limiting accessibility for many patients without reliable internet or technology. Opioid addicts face the same stressors as everyone else, worrying about their jobs, access to health care, and staying healthy. As a result, addicts have an increased risk of relapsing right now. Illicit drugs are also more unpredictable and more likely to be contaminated at the moment, creating a dangerous situation for addicts.In 2018, 128 people died every day in the U.S. from opioid overdoses. But doctors do see hope for improvement as a result of COVID-19. As the pandemic has forced medical providers and addiction treatment centers to move online and develop new approaches for treatment by phone, they may have created a system that is more accessible for patients, allowing more people to seek treatment quickly.
The Opioid Manufacturers
Purdue Pharma, one of the most aggressive early marketers of prescription opioids, is now facing more than 10,000 lawsuits, including thousands of lawsuits from U.S. municipalities and states. As a result, Purdue filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 15, 2019. As part of a proposed settlement, the company will restructure and use future sales profits to compensate individuals and their families who suffered injury or death by its opioid medications. However,
the deadline for filing a claim as part of the settlement is July 30, 2020.
If opioids have harmed you or a loved one, contact the Madeksho Law Firm as soon as possible. The deadline is fast approaching, so call us at 888-910-6376, or through our online form for a free consultation. You never pay a fee unless we recover compensation on your behalf.
