Is There Hope for Ending the Opioid Epidemic?

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?

Most of our patients noted a gradual increase in job availability and hourly pay over the last 1–2 years.

Historically, improvement in job availability overlapped with the early 2020 CDC report of a 4.1% decrease in drug overdose deaths in the USA, the first decrease since 1990 (1,2).

Unfortunately, the 2020 Coronavirus epidemic and associated unemployment coincide with a significant increase in overdose mortality.

Over 81,000 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States in the 12 months ending in May 2020—the highest number of overdose deaths ever recorded in a 12-month period, according to provisional data from the CDC.

Is this a coincidence?

We think not.

Although the causal relationship between an increase in jobs and a decrease in addiction is difficult to prove, we consider that if job and wage increases restore their previous trends, with prolonged buprenorphine treatment, the epidemic of addiction stabilizes and overdose mortality may continue to subside over time. References: 1. Schuchat, A., Houry, D. & Guy, G.P. (2017, August 1). New data on opioid use and prescribing in the United States. JAMA. 318(5):425-426.

2. Wilson N, Mbabazi K, Seth P, Smith H, Davis N L. Drug and Opioid-Involved Overdose Deaths — United States, 2017–2018 MMWR / March 20, 2020 / Vol. 69 / No. 11

3. CDC Newsroom. Overdose Deaths Accelerating During COVID-19. December 17, 2020 -Dr. Bogdan Nowicki