Opioid Epidemic and Politics There are many different topics that pass thro

Opioid Epidemic and Politics
There are many different topics that pass through Congress, especially when talking about healthcare. Obesity, medication cost, and mental health services are just a few issues that lobbyists work towards bettering every day. This post will focus on the opioid epidemic.
Opioid Use Statistics
The opioid epidemic is a topic that can be found in just about every newspaper, magazine, or on any tv station. According to NAMI (n.d.), 33.5 % of adults in the US diagnosed with a mental health disorder also had a substance use disorder. In 2021 alone, over 106,000 Americans died from a drug overdose. In order to save lives, the opioid crisis must be addressed at the presidential level.
Trump Vs. Biden Debate
Focusing on our last 2 presidents – Biden and Trump, it can be noted that they had differing opinions and plans on tackling the opioid crisis in our country. Wen and Sadeghi (2020) explain several differences in opinion pertaining to the opioid crisis of Biden versus Trump. While both presidents had a goal to reduce the overall drug supply, Trump looked for an increase in incarceration time for users, whereas Biden had a greater focus on diverting these individuals to drug programs instead of simply serving time. The Affordable Care Act sides have been argued by many, but it has been found to provide more mental health coverage and services compared to before it was enacted. Trump hoped to repeal this act altogether, which would interfere with individuals with mental health and substance use disorders from continuing these services. Biden, on the other hand, had hopes to amend the ACA instead of completely repealing it (Wen & Sadeghi, 2020).
Conclusion
In summary, whether you side with Biden, Trump, or neither president, we cannot deny that opioid use and associated deaths is something that requires us to work together on to find a way to stop it. Personally, I think that in politics it is necessary to compromise and consider many different opinions when attempting to push something into law. Pertaining to the opioid epidemic, I believe that decreasing services that promote mental health would be devastating for this issue, but the government also needs to crack down on suppliers of these drugs in order to save lives. The NIH (2023) points out that programs such as the naloxone distribution program reduced opioid-associated deaths by an average of 11%; reducing the funding of programs such as this one would be a death sentence.