How We Can End the Opiate Epidemic
The solution requires a paradigm shift in how we treat addiction
The solution to ending the opioid epidemic isn’t cracking down with stiffer penalties, sealing the border, or distributing Narcan. I’d like to propose a radical solution that requires a paradigm shift on how we treat drug addiction.
The answer is simple.
Opiate replacement therapy using hydromorphone at clinical supervised injection facilities.
To put it simply, give addicts free dilaudid.
Providing free drugs in a controlled environment is the solution to the opiate epidemic. Shifting the focus of the war on drugs from arresting suppliers to enabling addicts is how we end the war on drugs.
Hear me out.
How we got here
In the good old days, doctors prescribed a big bottle of hydrocodone for almost anything. If you ran out of pills, call the doctor and they’d authorize another refill.
In 2016 there was significant uptick in opiate deaths. That year the CDC issued new prescribing guidelines for prescribing opiates. Doctors were told to stop prescribing opiates for chronic pain. Opiates were only to be used for severe acute pain using the lowest dose for not longer than…
