Overdose deaths aren't going down. It's the deadliest crisis in American history. According to the CDC, the age-adjusted overdose death rate increased by 14% between 2020 (28.3 per 100,000) and 2021 (32.4 per 100,000). We've all heard far too much about the opioid crisis recently. What does it mean, and more importantly, why is it happening?

The problem began with over prescription of opioid pain relievers, which led to drug abuse, and the primary cause in the current wave of the crisis is illegal opioids, which outnumber prescription medications. Opioid abuse jeopardizes public safety by increasing crime, poverty and homelessness, while also putting a load on the healthcare system due to a lack of treatment choices and high relapse rates. Other issues include enormous financial and social costs, with states spending billions of dollars each year on therapies. Yes, providing treatment and rehabilitation is important; but why not try to prevent it from happening in the first place? Here is what we can do: By contacting our local officials, we can advocate to raise awareness through education and promote opioid prevention campaigns to create healthy environments.

Primary prevention is a term used in healthcare to describe actions taken to prevent disease or injury from occurring. For example, if we want to prevent hypertension (high blood pressure) in patients, we will teach them how to take blood pressure readings, what foods to avoid, and the importance of exercise and a stress-free lifestyle to maintain stable numbers. So why not apply the same principle to the opioid crisis? Treating it is critical, but it is also difficult and expensive, with untreated addictions costing an estimated $43,200 per person per year.

Simply, we need to increase public awareness to make safe choices. Working together, we can begin by implementing primary prevention measures and educating children and adolescents about the dangers of opioids in schools, colleges and universities. According to research, the younger people are when they first try a substance, the more likely they are to abuse it at some point, and the longer they use it, the greater their risk of an accident. Discouraging adolescents from starting requires social marketing, moral persuasion, education about the risks and teaching them how to effectively say “No.” Such programs are even more successful when they are part of a larger community-based effort directed at all ages.

Another reason we should prioritize primary prevention to tackle drug use and the opioid crisis is to avoid situations like those in Oregon or California, where officials are dealing with growing drug problems and associated crime, as well as mental health issues and homelessness, all of which are putting stress on our healthcare system, police system and community safety.

Oregon is one of the states where illegal narcotics, particularly fentanyl, have become an unmanageable problem, contributing to an increase in homelessness and violence. However, the government introduced Measure 110, also known as the Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act, which decriminalized narcotics such as methamphetamine and fentanyl in an attempt to recognize drug addiction not as a crime but as a health problem and encourage individuals to seek treatment rather than using criminal punishment. This hasn't worked very well because abusers simply ignore voluntary therapy because there are no rules to enforce it. Hence, to work, treatment must be easily available and encouraged. These measures failed, and now, a few years later, Oregon's governor is moving to overturn them.

Let us avoid repeating what happened on the west coast and take action right away. The goal should be to discourage people from using drugs rather than to tolerate it. In order to defeat the growing opioid crisis on a national scale, a public health campaign is required. The primary prevention movement must be implemented in conjunction with current health policies. I ask you to write to your senators, explain the issue and ask for assistance to start a campaign against drugs.

Nearby states have not been immune to the opioid crisis, and they developed strategies to address it. Philadelphia formed an Opioid Response Unit to combat the growing issue by investing in communities and improving access to treatment and housing. Schools in Massachusetts implemented screening techniques to identify students who may be at risk of addiction and offer opioid education.

With narcotics so freely available, an opioid epidemic will continue to spread in the absence of a strong prevention effort. Do not wait, act now.

Paulina Szlejer is a registered nurse at UConn Health and is pursuing a master’s degree at UConn. She lives in Farmington.