Henry David Thoreau once said, “On the death of a friend, we should consider that the fates through confidence have devolved on us the task of a double living, that we have henceforth to fulfill the promise of our friend’s life also, in our own, to the world.” This is a statement that couldn’t stand any bolder in the face of an opioid epidemic that is slowly and silently offing the people that make us this country.

Addiction alone is responsible for the premature deaths of millions collectively over the course of time. In the last few years, the works of alcoholism/addiction have manifested an opioid crisis that has sprouted into catastrophic proportions. This is no dramatization. Shakespeare himself couldn’t have conjured up a more tragic story than the reality that has played out in recent years.

Across the United States, countless beings are falling victim to the fatal temptations of opiate-based chemicals and the results are terrifying. Addiction-related deaths are off the charts in the last few years leaving people scrambling to find the right drug rehabs in Ohio before it’s too late for their loved ones. And Ohio sits shackled to the worst of it desperately looking for a solution. There’s no doubt about the opioid crisis for some after President Trump announced the United States to be in a state of emergency in correlation to the pharmaceutical plague. The question in bold print is: what is it that can be done?

The Ugly Facts

Just to give show to the detrimental rocket that has taken off, let’s take a quick peek at the then and now of the opioid crisis. Let’s go back about 15 years to 2003. This early 21st century year ended with 296 opioid-related deaths in the United States. This may seem like a minuscule number given the country’s population, but rest assured that this number wasn’t even a summit on the mountain of misery that addiction would continue to deliver.

Now let’s jump to about 2015 where that number soared to 2,590 overdose deaths related to the ever-increasing opioid crisis. That is a 775% jump over the course of a 13 year period. That is plain ridiculous. Think about how many premature deaths were caused by some form of opiates. Those are real people just dropping left and right. Real breathing, heart beating, flesh and bone people like you or I. People that had potential in life or meant the world to others. It hurts to watch so many come and go thru the grips of the opioid crisis. There are no words to even express something that ludicrous. These opioid-related deaths are caused by substances including:

Heroin
Fentanyl
Morphine
Carfentanil
Oxycontin

Just a few of the big ones to name because there are too many to keep track of. Whether from overdose, respiratory, or cardiac-related issues- death is completely inevitable if addicts continue to have a dance off with the devil. It seems that there is no slowing the distribution of death from the pharmaceutical companies, despite recent laws passed and current lawsuits underway. So if the chemical tyrants can’t be stopped, wherein does the answer to the opioid crisis lay?

Upping the Ante

Plans are being put into action, but there is really only so much that can be done to battle such dilemmas. Opiates are so easy to obtain these days and it’s impossible to rid them from the streets entirely. Heroin, one of the deadliest drugs out there, is a drug that barely exists anymore. The stuff that’s being called heroin these days is of a different breed that has god-knows-what in it as it’s sold in packaged forms of death.

Facing the facts, the state of Ohio has launched a campaign to hopefully get everybody’s attention. With the help of Gov. John Kasich and Development Services Director David Goodman, the opioid crisis is being confronted aggressively as promised with a competition of sorts that will up the ante. Open to the public from entrepreneurs to business owners, this 3 part forum will award money for the top technological concepts and advances on the opioid crisis. The state of Ohio has put together a challenge that will provide an incentive for people to acknowledge the epidemic at hand while gaining a platform to a national audience that might not have been available beforehand.

Ohio Leading the Battlefront

With everybody becoming zombified and others passing away, the future for the people of Ohio and addicts all around looks bleak. On the other hand, this technology challenge can give segway to some ideas that might not have ever been heard otherwise. One of the most admirable parts of this $100,000 reward challenge is that it’s taking addiction and bringing it to the front doorstep of everybody who has had their back turned to it for the last decade.

Realistically, the opioid crisis has affected the whole country in mass proportions. Guaranteed almost everybody in the U.S. has had a friend, relative, or has just known somebody that alcoholism has brought misfortune to. Even in these advanced times, it’s hard to get everybody on the same page of recognizing it as a disease. The challenge, open now until December 15th will reward the top entries and 40 runner-ups. It’s time for the people to speak up. The people of Ohio. The people of this country. It’s time for a chemical revolution that puts this opioid crisis in its place. Addiction isn’t a choice for any, but when we work together, it doesn’t stand a chance. Change is coming.

Stay Warm

Addiction will suck the life out of you until there is literally none left. We all think at some point we have it beat but then continue to live in the misery teetering on the edge of life and death that heroin addiction and alcoholic thinking take us through. If you or a loved one is ready to choose life and put the torment behind, please call 1-800-481-8457 or visit oarcstaging.wpengine.com. We have a trained team of specialists waiting to gladly take your call and discuss the options available to create the happiest of futures ahead.