Opioid Overdoses Persuasive Speech

Two years ago, in the United States, over 42,000 people died from an overdose from opioid medications alone and a little under half of those deaths were due to heroin. Year after year, it grows and grows, becoming a major problem in our communities. Even in our own state in the same year, over 4,000 people died and just last year over 5,000 died from heroin and opioids overdoses. Opioid overdoses are claiming ordinary people in 24 different Cambria County communities as well. That’s scary to know that the opioid crisis is right in our own backyard. Governor Tom Wolf said that Centers for Disease Control has ranked Pennsylvania has the fourth worst in the country for the overdose death rate of its people. That’s startling, that right there should

I think that is true because I believe people choose to do drugs, but once they get addicted their brain is wired to constantly want that drug because they become prone to it and then it is hard to stop causing it to take over their body thus making it a mental disease. I think people turn to drugs as way to cope with stressful and depressive situations in their lives. They do it to forget these things and to make themselves feel better. Once they are addicted, it is very hard for them to stop and I think the reason for that is they become accustomed to it and then they have to do it. They have these urges they have to fulfill and until these urges go away they cannot stop themselves from using drugs. The epidemic first started off with OxyContin and prescription medicine and then it escalated to street heroin. They both are a long lasting drug that deals with pain and is very addicting. People wanted more potent stuff, a higher dosage, so they turned to heroin because OxyContin opened the door for this type of

People become addicted and use these drugs as a way to deal with their pain instead of actually getting professional help. Too many people are becoming victims and that’s why it is a serious epidemic. I think what needs to be done to stop the heroin and opioid usage is for starters getting better and more effective treatment for these people. We need more facilities to house these people in recovery and to have them stay longer than normal to make sure they can function without drugs. I think we need more methadone clinics because they seem to help a lot with those who have urges and have quit using drugs. Another big one is to stop letting the DA allow doctors to prescribe as many opioid medications as they want and only a certain amount for methadone or suboxone. These treatment drugs are a step towards helping those who quit using drugs from relapsing again. Another one is that drug and mental health treatment is expensive and we are underfunded in the efforts of stopping this epidemic. I think we need to find a way of getting more money to pay for these treatments because without them there is no way of stopping the spread of these overdoses. One more is they have been putting naloxone, a reversal drug for an opioid overdose, in the hands of police and first responders. I think we need more