At the age of 16, a sophomore in high school ate a bottle of hydrocodone, leaving behind an empty bottle and a suicide note in his dresser drawer.
Within a short period of time, he felt the euphoria that, unbeknownst to him, may have acted as a catalyst for a lifelong battle with addiction. The disease impacts millions in the U.S. alone.
What he didn’t know, however, was that even though he woke up the next morning, the severe deceleration of his heart rate and descent into unconsciousness the night before were signs of an opioid overdose.
He didn’t realize how lucky he was that night — and numerous times since — to have woken back up, especially without the aid of the life-saving overdose reversal drug naloxone.
Not everyone is as lucky as I was.
Today marks International Opioid Overdose Awareness Day, an effort to help prevent drug overdoses as hundreds in the U.S. die each day.
Sure, a day meant for overdose education sounds great. After all, bringing awareness to the epidemic and educating the public about the dangers of drugs such as opioids is an integral first step in combating the problem.
Unfortunately, simple awareness initiatives prove horribly inadequate in lieu of tangible action by governments and organizations focused on addiction.
The most recent data shows an estimated 110,000 people died last year of drug overdoses in the U.S., a moderate increase over the year prior, according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That’s about 300 people per day, although the numbers are expected to be higher because some data remains incomplete.
Synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, which are significantly stronger than heroin, could be attributed to about 75,000 overdose deaths last year, the CDC reported.
In Maryland, an estimated 2,500 overdose deaths occurred last year. Data local to Baltimore for the time period is not available.
Meanwhile, less than half of those with a substance use disorder have received treatment, even though 29% of U.S. adults say they are battling with opioid addiction or know someone who is, according to a recent poll of more than 1,300 adults by KFF, a health policy research group.
In response to the epidemic in Baltimore and beyond, more aggressive policing has been viewed as a strategy to curb drug addiction by targeting dealers themselves.
But in open-air drug markets in the country such as the Penn North neighborhood in Baltimore, law enforcement has intentionally abandoned policing the areas despite the departments’ ballooning budgets.
Rather than care about addicts, police have seemingly launched a fear-mongering campaign out of ignorance, misleading the public with lies that officers are overdosing by simple contact with drugs such as fentanyl.
These stories, in reality, describe something that is impossible.
Most recently, news outlets in Wisconsin reported that Milwaukee County Sheriff's Deputy Adriean Williams received naloxone, also known under the name brand Narcan, after apparent overdose symptoms following fentanyl exposure while on duty.
Dr. Ryan Marino, a toxicology expert who routinely has debunked the possibility of overdosing by simply touching the drug, once again took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to explain how the situation was blown out of proportion.
“This is not a fentanyl overdose,” Marino said Tuesday in response to the body camera footage. “Nothing in this video is what fentanyl does.
"Indications for Narcan (naloxone) are literally 1) unresponsiveness and 2) not breathing. If you are awake, responding, and breathing well enough to follow the command ‘breathe through your nose” then you don’t need Narcan.’
For those struggling with addiction in Baltimore, resources can be found on the city website.
The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration also provides resources here, which include aid with locating addiction treatment centers.
It’s disgraceful that police have inaccurately depicted what dangers drugs such as fentanyl pose, instead misguiding the public with claims that do more harm than good.
In the end, however, the addicts are the victims.
So what do cities do as the opioid epidemic rages on?
Instead of directing sufficient funds to combat the widespread addiction dilemma, they explore pouring millions of dollars more into their respective police departments for reasons none other than to further empower the State.
That’s true in Baltimore, at least, which is exploring a $330 million police and fire department training facility, building upon Atlanta’s proposed $90 million “Cop City” facility, The Baltimore Banner reported last week.
Does anyone think they’ll be properly trained on how to deal with those whom they serve in the throes of addiction?
Yeah, right.
Instead, on this International Overdose Awareness Day, people should call for reforms that will actually help address the issue at hand through strategies such as harm reduction.
Why not, instead of spending more money to bolster police forces, redirect police funding to bring onboard teams of social workers who can connect addicts to resources?
Even further, why not create more affordable — if not free — education initiatives to train social workers?
The money is there. It’s just not being used correctly.
Government officials can spew platitudes about the opioid epidemic and how it’s ruining their communities. They can call for change, explore ideas such as clean needle exchanges or act as if they empathize with addicts.
But none of that matters unless they put their money where their mouth is, just as they should be doing with other struggling communities such as the homeless.
That includes more affordable — again, if not free — access to health care and housing for those in need.
That also includes making rehabilitation programs more accessible, making mental health treatment more accessible and making a higher quality of life more accessible in general.
It may sound like a big ask.
But it’s not, and the addicts deserve to be seen as humans with voices before they potentially end up dead and no longer have one.
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