By Alec Nunez

The war on drugs has been waging for years, dating as far back as even the nineteenth century with the Opium Wars between China and Britain. Just like any other war, evolution occurs. This battle, however, has been taken to the home front, plaguing our nation and those closest to us.

Drug use in the U.S. has skyrocketed in the last decade, with tobacco accumulating over $168 billion in healthcare fees and other illicit drugs totaling $11 billion. According to an article written by vox, drug overdose killed more people than the entirety of the Vietnam War—in one year. This extreme toll is the result of 2016’s opioid epidemic, which only contributes the the nation’s crux of drugs. 2016 saw over 65,000 deaths due to drug overdose, a substantial increase when compared to the 16, 849 of 1999, an increase of nearly 50,000 in just 16 years. This number exceeds the 2015 record of the most drug overdose deaths in U.S. history. If this trend continues, 2018 will likely only be worse than 2017 which was substantially more damaging than 2016.

The American Opioid Crisis finds its roots back in the 1990’s when doctors saw pain as a serious medical issue. Viewing this as an opportunity, pharmaceutical companies found themselves convincing doctors to prescribe drugs such as OxyContin and Percocet even though evidence showed the ability of opioids to treat chronic pain long-term was weak. In contrast, opioids were, and still are, very strong at causing profound harm on users. These opioids found themselves leaving the patients and falling into the hands of friends, family, and the black market. Soon the nation was hooked, and deaths linked to overdose grew tenfold.

This war on drugs begins in the minds of the abusers themselves. Many who take the drugs are aware of their negative consequences but are unable to free themselves from the shackles of addiction, searching for any fix they can get their hands on. Our nation has found itself on the verge as its inhabitants drive themselves to a self-inflicted hell. Attempts to crack down on drugs have been fruitless and unable to put a stop to crises like that of which the U.S. is experiencing right now. This detriment necessitates a link of arms to lift our brothers and sisters from their knees and is becoming more and more necessary as our country finds its population withering away due to business endeavors taking a foothold over human life.