The opioid epidemic in the US and how to help reverse it

The opioid epidemic is a crisis in the U.S and Canada that was marked by the increased use of opium drugs amongst the population. Increased use of opioid drugs drastically increased among the medically prescribed group and also with those that used it for recreational purposes. This crisis started in the early 2000s and has affected the U.S population to date (Morris, & Mir, 2015). Opium is medically used as a strong painkiller and trades under the name (OxyContin and Percocet). Opium has other derived compounds that are gotten from it such as heroin and morphine.  The potency of opium and its availability has made it the most popular drug for both recreation and medical use despite the high risks that the substance has on the users. The drug has a high risk of addiction and overdose may cause death due to respiratory failure (Dart, Surratt, Cicero, Parrino, Severtson, Bucher-Bartelson, & Green, 2015). In this paper I will propose solutions to the opium epidemic and explain how the government, NGO’s, citizens and other stakeholders can work together to reverse opium.