Is the Opiate Epidemic Not a Presidential Debate Worthy Issue?

Of the 21.5 million Americans 12 or older that had a substance use disorder in 2016, over 1.9 million had a substance use disorder involving prescription pain relievers and around 586,000 had a substance use disorder involving heroin. That’s a pretty scary number. Here are some more. In 2016, around 33,636 persons died from firearm injuries in the while a total of about 46,471 persons died of drug-induced causes in the United States. Now also keep in mind we are talking about 2016, three years ago, all projections show the death rate from drug overdose is rising significantly.  My question is why wasn’t the heroin and opiate epidemic not mentioned once in the first presidential debate? And will it be a topic of the next one in 2020.

Why was’t the Heroin Epidemic Discussed at the Last Presidential Debate?

With the heroin epidemic sweeping our nation and overdose deaths at record highs I expected this to be a topic question, and frankly I’m a little frustrated it wasn’t. Gun control was discussed but it is a fact that overdose deaths surpass gun related deaths. Maybe as a person in recovery I am more aware of the issue but that frightens me a bit. If the leading cause of death for our young generation isn’t a topic that needs to be discuses by our elected officials what is? I heard a lot of back and forth about emails, and “hurtful comments” from the candidates but not a word about the heroin epidemic in the presidential debate.

Our Voices need to be Heard to Stop this Opiate Crisis

We have organized rallies, wrote letters to our officials but the progress seems painfully slow in getting some real action done to help addicts and alcoholics struggling with addiction. I don’t know why the opiate and heroin epidemic wasn’t mentioned at the debate, but I hope it will be discussed in the future.
Chances are you or a loved one have been hurt by this crisis and it needs to be discussed by our government. Funding for treatment, insurance standards that will cover effective treatment and harm reduction are not something we need in a few years when our next president takes office, we need them now and we need them on a large scale.

How to Find Help that Matters

If you or a loved one are struggling with addiction help is available even with no insurance or state/ government funded insurance. If you need help please call (561)-770-6616 and our admissions team will help you find a treatment center to accept you. You can also visit our admissions page.