Prolonged use or misuse of opioids can result in addiction and withdrawal. Tolerance to the drug can prompt the user to start increasing the doses to experience the initial effect. The estimated costs of healthcare, loss of productivity, treatment of addiction, and involvement of the criminal justice system is 78.5 billion dollars a year. Lack of funding and attention towards the crisis not only creates a huge economic deficit, but also deters the country from creating sustainable solutions that can decrease opioid use and addiction. 

The opioid epidemic in the United States is said to have three waves: prescription opioids in 1999, heroin in 2010, and synthetic drugs like fentanyl in 2013. Opioid misuse has led to the deaths of over 700,000 people from 1999 to 2017, of which 70,000 occurred in 2017 alone. The opioid epidemic is a public health crisis that needs to be resolved immediately, but requires effort from multiple sources. For instance, disproportionate funding from the federal government prevents state and local governments from implementing accessible programs for all users. In addition, pharmaceutical companies played a large role and are now being exposed for promoting the crisis. 

In order to limit over-prescription, the state must increase regulation of pharmaceuticals, hospitals, and other medical facilities. The pharmaceutical industry should be held responsible for the promotion of opioid use, being that, despite the drugs’ addictive properties, companies continued to advertise and promote their use. In order to combat the root problem, companies should allocate money to researching less addictive treatments, rather than spending money on advertisements for and production of opioids. 

Pharmaceutical companies are now being exposed for their actions and being charged with the consequences. For example, the Sackler family’s company, Purdue Pharma, which is responsible for creating and promoting OxyContin. After a lawsuit, the company agreed to pay three billion dollars over the span of 7 years, in addition to dissolving the company. In addition, Teva Pharmaceutical agreed to pay $23 billion worth of suboxone and an additional 250 million dollars over 10 years for opioid treatment. Although the payments will not be enough to cover the estimated cost of the crisis, holding pharmaceutical companies accountable is a good start to limiting opioid production to prevent more detrimental consequences.  

There needs to be treatment plans providing extensive care for patients and families who have already been deeply impacted. A solution already implemented, but requires more funding, is Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) programs. These are individualized treatments that pay close attention to the patient and their level of addiction, but can cost around $26,644 per person per year.   

In order to contain the opioid epidemic, the federal, state, and local governments must collaborate to create long-lasting solutions. The federal government is an important player, due to its ability to fund state-led treatment programs. The opioid crisis in each state differs in the severity, affected population, and environment,  so there is no “one size fits all” solution. The goal is to treat patients who are currently addicted as well as prevent more users from becoming opioid-dependent. Additionally, the local government needs to raise urgency around the matter by encouraging more community involvement. Unfortunately, without the proper amount of funding from the federal government, it will be very difficult to solve the opioid crisis.