The opioid epidemic raging across the country is forcing the United States to look for ways and means to overcome the growing problem of prescription drug abuse and its devastating consequences. Various agencies and organizations at different levels are trying their best to design measures to combat the issue. Taking the opioid problem in Texas seriously, El Paso set up a task force recently in an attempt to curb the misuse and abuse of prescription drugs. The task force includes members of local enforcement agencies, hospitals and addiction recovery centers.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), roughly half of all opioid overdose deaths in the country are an outcome of the abuse of prescription opioids. The task force formed in May 2017 aimed to inform the public about how rampant misuse of drugs, including heroin and painkillers, can kill people. It aims to call a meeting in a town hall and inform people about the problem of opioid abuse in the state. Members of the task force also wish to ensure that no one from the gathering feels shy or afraid to seek help for their addiction problems.
The idea of creating the task force to help people addicted to substances before they hit rock bottom is considered better than imprisonment of minor drug offenders as reinstated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions in May 2017. The “War on Drugs” movement had led to mass incarceration in the U.S. despite recent developments in treatment and prevention. With roughly more than 50 percent inmates serving sentences in federal prisons for drug offenses, diversion centers are cropping up across the nation to help people avail drug addiction treatment instead of throwing them behind bars.
Experts do not support the idea of putting people dependent on drugs behind bars that works on the fact that cutting off the regular supply of drugs would aid in the recovery process. People addicted to substances need treatment and support, as opposed to indiscriminate arrests and detention. Though the El Paso police included in the task force continue to make arrests, making them a part of it will ensure maximum outreach to those who need help. Imprisonment only brings embarrassment and unrelenting mortification and the main problem of opioid dependence for which they were apprehended remains untreated, subjecting them to potential risk of abusing other substances.
People do not get hooked on the opioids in a day. Factors like uninformed choices of overdosing on opioids to treat pain or careless tendency to abuse them to get a high can make people opioid dependent. It is necessary that they be allowed to choose between availing treatment at drug rehab facilities and getting treatment for drug addiction problems as opposed to being arrested for their offenses.
Anyone can fall into the trap of opioid addiction irrespective of race, age, gender or social standing. Parents of an increasing number of teenagers have been queuing up outside addiction treatment centers across the country to get their wards treated.
Delaying treatment or shying away from proper drug treatment programs may result in worsening of the drug abuse problem. Sovereign Health of El Paso, Texas specializes in treating all kinds of drug addiction problems, including opioid abuse. Drug addiction programs aid in quick recovery of patients addicted to various kinds of substances, including opioids. Call our 24/7 helpline or chat online for more information about our drug addiction rehab centers. Timely treatment can help in avoiding other complications arising from addiction.
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