America is being ravaged by heroin and prescription pills. The opioid addiction has long reached the status of epidemic, and an argument for pandemic could be made. Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said in his final report last year that 1 in 3 American homes are somehow directly affected by opioid addiction. Ohio is the epicenter of this disaster. That’s no argument.
Home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the state is also currently home to the most deaths caused by opioid overdoses in our nation. Last year, Ohio accounted for 7.4% of all US opioid deaths, as reported by the Dayton Daily News. Making matters worse, Ohio ranks seventh in population. Consider the fact that this epidemic is nationwide, and this means six other states have more people but fewer opioid deaths. Still doesn’t sound so bad?
California has over three times as many people as Ohio, and that’s just according to the census. Homelessness is both a rampant problem in California, and over a quarter of the homeless abuse drugs other than alcohol. Still, California ranked second behind Ohio for number of opioid deaths, having 82 fewer last year.
The people of Ohio need help. Luckily, they recently got some – to the tune of $26,000,000 in fact. But before we get into that, let’s talk a little more about how Ohio came to be the face of America’s opioid problem. Then let’s discuss how and why the state just received 26 million bucks, what’s going to be done with the money, and whether or not it will actually help.
