History of Opioid and the Opioid Crisis

   The roots of the Opioid Crisis were planted long before the 20th century. Opioid was first commonly used in medical practices during the Civil War, and by 1895, opioid was a common medical practice.  During this time, people were prescribed opioids for anything, from headaches to menstrual cramps. In the late 1880s, 60% of opium addicts were women, because doctors would prescribe women opium for everything-nervousness, morning sickness, and pain in general.

    Earliest Use-Opiates' first break(s)

     In 1899, doctors started to realize the addictiveness of opium and morphine and moved to pain-killers such as aspirin. To help stop the abuse and over-prescription of opium, there was an effort to better educate doctors about the effects of opium. By 1915, opiates were no longer available over the counter. In 1909, Theodore Roosevelt passed a law that banned opium used for smoking from being imported. The price of opium rose by more than 10 times its original value, and addicts started looking for easier and more dangerous forms of opiates (morphine, heroin).

20th Century-Opiate Marketing

  With more regulations enacted as the 20th century went on, doctors were able to use opiates more appropriately, and doctors began to see the positive side of using opiates in some longterm cases with patients. Along with positive results of opiate use, in the late 20th century, Opiate companies started heavily marketing their drug to physicians. Companies such as Purdue Pharma said that Oxytocin would not lead to addiction, and physicians believed them. Opioid overdose rates increased and people did not realize Oxytocin ended up leading patients to start new addictions such as heroin until it was too late. As the diversity of the problem spread and the population as well, America had a problem.

Recently

Around 33,000 people died from an opioid overdose in 2015, which included illegal and prescribed opiates. Opioid abuse causes a multitude of problems, such as heroin addiction, HIV, Hep C, and more. The Opioid Crisis was determined a national health crisis officially in 2017, but policies since 2016 show that the epidemic seen today was already being called out by years before.

Bibliography:
https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/opioids/opioid-overdose-crisis

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/inside-story-americas-19th-century-opiate-addiction-180967673/

https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/political-scene/patrick-radden-keefe-on-how-the-marketing-of-oxycontin-helped-create-the-opioid-epidemic

https://www.cnn.com/2017/09/18/health/opioid-crisis-fast-facts/index.html