Have you ever lost something valuable to you? My friend’s aunt died due to overdosing on opioids. This has put their family in a tight situation since they had to pay a lot of money for all of the expenses of the funeral. A lot of people are losing lives due to overdosing on drugs, especially in DC. The government needs to implement more organized plans to address this.
According to Howard University Hospital, “the District of Columbia has close to 400 opioid-related deaths per year, contributing to the third highest opioid mortality rate in the country, with 34.7 deaths per 100,000 people compared to the national average of 14.6 deaths.” In other words, the District of Columbia has more than double the mortality rate of the national average, which means that a lot of people are taking way too many drugs in DC. According to the District of Columbia’s “Live. Long. DC” program, “Fatal overdoses hit their first peak in 2017, with 279 overdoses, but declined in 2018 when we began implementation of an organized effort to combat the issue. In 2019, fatalities returned to the 2017 levels and hit an all-time high in 2020.” It’s clear that an organized effort can make a difference.
To address drug overdoses in America, the Federal government needs to make Naloxone available nationwide. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Naloxone, also known as Narcan, is a medicine that treats overdoses by blocking and reversing the effects of opioids. Narcan is an effective way to save lives. According to a CDC report, “Nearly 27,000 lives have been saved as a result of Narcan kits given to friends and family to reverse opioid overdoses.” It is all worth it to preserve your life, even when there are drawbacks like nausea and vomiting. Overall, if everybody had access to Naloxone, overdoses would hugely decrease, not just in DC but the whole country–and maybe even beyond.
With everything taken into account, a surprisingly large number of drug-related deaths are preventable. A world without drug overdoses is a world without pain, sadness, and loss. I hope everyone stays safe and is careful with drugs.
