Opioid crisis policy

Due to the rise in the addiction and dependency of Morphine and Heroin Congress decided to pass this Act to ensure that all narcotics had a written prescription. From this point, a lot of interventions have been made by the government to combat the abuse of opioid and reduce the number of people who die due to opioid abuse. This crisis has become a menace, and numerous governmental inputs and strategies have been proposed and implemented, but still, there are no signs of reduction in the number of people are addicted to Opioid or those who die due to overdose. In fact 2000 to 2008 the number of people who died due to overdose has increased by four times. The fact is that the government has tried to contain this epidemic, but its strategies have not been fruitful.

In the 1990s is the period when the hell broke loose because opioid prescription increased at the global scale and different people in the USA advocated for continued use of opioid to treat pain. This was followed by mass marketing and advertising of OxyContin which led to the wide sale of opioid the marketers gave a lower profile of the addictive ability of these drugs. According to research, the sales of OxyContin moved from $48million in 1996 to around $2. 4 billion in 2012. This is a clear indicator of the rising application of opioid in the US due to its shift from a pain management medicine to a prescription drug which led to its mass production. The future is not certain, and according to the current statistics, the addiction and abuse of opioid will increase unless alternative pain management drugs are developed or the government is able to formulate workable strategies that will ensure that patients take the prescribed portions only.

This policy area is being addressed by all levels of government because it is a national disaster which is claiming a lot of lives in the country. The Legislature is the most involved level of government that has taken the responsibility of combating this crisis because from 1914 to date the Congress and the Senate have passed a lot of bills into law concerning the Opioid crisis. Congress in one of the most involved bodies that have addressed different issues related to this policy ranging from regulating the distribution of opioid to the provision of funds for the treatment of patients suffering from opioid addiction. In fact, it has been very cooperative, and its members have shown their dedication in combating this epidemic (Vadivelu, 12).

In fact, the federal court has been accused of lacking enthusiasm in tackling this epidemic. The US constitution gives Congress the mandate to regulate interstate commerce and also develop additional measures for implementing this mandate. Also, the same constitution empowers the president to poses the powers to enforce general law as well as ensure proper execution of these federal laws. Therefore, the Congress drives their mandate of making policy in this area from the constitution, and that is why it has been passing different laws and policies related to Opioid abuse and substance abuse in general (Barlas, 1). Also, the office of the president derives its power from the constitution to make policies in this area. Linder due to prescribing medication to people in Oklahoma who were addicts and the federal government challenged his legitimacy.

After conviction Linder appealed and the conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court due to the fact that the federal government had overstepped its mandate by regulating medicine. The judge stated that direct control of medicine in the states level was beyond the mandate of the federal government. Also, another controversial case was Gonzales vs. Oregon. Opioid Crisis in one of the issues that have received a lot of attention from all levels of government and a lot of federal legislation have been made for the last three decades. The Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018 is one of the latest federal legislation to be enacted in relation to this policy. The federal government is trying to tackle this issue from all sides, and this is why there is very many legislation in this policy (Krashin, 23).

In fact, Opioid Crisis is being compared to Hiv Aids epidemic, and this shows the intensity of the matter. in conclusion Opioid Crisis is one of the major epidemics that the USA and the rest of the world is facing, and all levels of government have made a lot of interventions to combat this issue, but it has been difficult due to its importance and significance in pain treatment. "Challenges to the treatment of chronic pain and addiction during the “opioid crisis. ” Current pain and headache report 20. Madras, Bertha K. "The President's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis: Origins and Recommendations. " Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics103. "The US opioid crisis: current federal and state legal issues. " Anesthesia & Analgesia 125. Vadivelu, Nalini, et al.