1. The Opioid Epidemic:
An Overview
In recent years, the widespread and tragic misuse of opioids
has become a public health epidemic. In New York state, the
number of opioid overdose deaths in the state doubled from
2010 to 2015 and 1 in 12 New Yorkers report being afected by
opioid use, either directly or indirectly through their imme-
diate family.² In addition, opioid use may be related to other
public health issues such as child maltreatment.²
What are opioids?
Opioids can be legal or illegal and are dangerous because
they cause life-threatening respiratory depression.3
Common
opioids are oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine, heroin.
Manmade, or synthetic, opioids include a drug called fentanyl,
which can be 100 times more potent than morphine.3
Fentanyl contributed to nearly 50%
of opioid-related deaths in 2016.
Who misuses opioids?
Anyone can become addicted to opioids, but there are some
factors that increase an individual’s risk of opioid misuse.
Many of these factors refect an individual’s social or physical
environment, and thus are often out of their control.4
Increased Risk Among Adults Who
- Are treated in the Emergency Department.5
- Work physically demanding jobs, like farming or construction.
- Have been incarcerated.
- Experience social isolation.
- Had adverse childhood experiences.6
Increased Risk Among Youth Who
- Are treated in the Emergency Department.
- Use other substances, especially other medications.
- Have peers who engage in substance use.
- Are involved in criminal activity.
- Experience a major depressive episode or are hospitalized
for emotional treatment.
Why do people
misuse opioids?
- Within fve days of a person being prescribed opioids, the
body and brain can become dependent on this type of drug.
- The addiction drives the person to seek out more opioids.
They may get more prescription opioids from family, friends,
or a doctor; or they may switch to using heroin, because it is
cheaper and easier to access.3
Addiction is a biological health condition
that should be addressed with the care
and empathy we aford other diseases.
What can we do?
Educate
Educate people about the consequences of opioid misuse to
help prevent initiation or aid in recovery.
Speak
Speak compassionately and spread awareness about the social
and biological factors that lead to addiction in order to reduce
community stigma of people who use substances.
Act
Act early, because adolescents tend to have a lower perceived
risk of substance use, highlighting the need for early education
about addiction risks.7
Photo by RJ Anderson
sources
1. “What to Do If You Find a Needle.” SOLID Outreach.
2. “What to Do with Used Sharps in New York.” Safe Needle Disposal.
3. “Injection Drug Use and HIV Risk.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
4. Monnat, Shannon M., and Khary K. Rigg. “The Opioid Crisis in Rural and Small Town
America.” (2018).
5. “Safely Using Sharps (Needles and Syringes) at Home, at Work and on Travel.” U.S.
Food and Drug Administration.
6. “Child Trauma and Opioid Use: Policy Implications.” The National Child Traumatic
Stress Network
7. Rigg, Khary K., Shannon M. Monnat, and Melody N. Chavez. “Opioid-related mortality
in rural America: geographic heterogeneity and intervention strategies.” International
Journal of Drug Policy 57 (2018): 119-129.
For more information contact the
Opioid Program Work Team at
www.opioids.cce.cornell.edu
