War against Euphoria

 Hate Hope and Human Rights 

At least that's what the addicts describe it as. In 2020 alone, an estimated 9.5 million Americans, just Americans 12 years or older, admitted to misusing opioids. Between 8 to 12 percent of patients prescribed painkillers for chronic pain will end up developing an addiction and misuse them. They are killing us, our children, brothers, mothers, friends and family left and right, and they don't even have a gun.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly who is at fault for this. Do we blame big pharma companies for profiting off of the ill and over producing drugs, pushing them on doctors as an easy fix to many problems? Is it our doctors not paying attention to the dosage they prescribe, over prescribing, getting lazy with these killing machines? Is it the drug dealers, preying on the souls who maybe just had one shoulder surgery from a high school football game, had to take Oxycodone at first to relieve the excruciating pain, but then to numb all the other feelings? Or is it the addict's fault, who once was happy, but has now fallen victim to the dealers’ special ingredient of this week's batch of happy pills, now laced with fentanyl? 

The waves of deaths come and go with the decades, starting in the 90s when Oxycontin was promoted by Perdue Pharmaceuticals and approved by the FDA. Then a second wave crashed in from the heroin market, and most recently the monsoon of illegal synthetic opioids has taken out cities, literally. So? This isn't my problem. I don't do drugs, I'm a smart kid and I listened to the D.A.R.E. representatives when they gave their presentations in middle school. It matters, and we need to take a stand.

This is a full on crisis, which recently was masked and amplified by the pandemic. Isolation has allowed for addictions to go unnoticed by families and friends, it has increased the amounts of depression and anxiety people suffer from, and continues to hinder preventive and quality care. But I have hope.

It is important to recognize the issue. That we have a huge problem that cannot be solved overnight. The CDC has labeled the crises and epidemic, so step one is pretty much done on a large scale level.

As the pandemic regulations are starting to lift, accessibility to quality care is being increased, as well as stigmatization of the disease is being changed. Health professionals are changing their jargon, and substituting “substance abuse” with “substance use disorder” and stitching the reference of being “clean” or “dirty” when using, and taking advantage of the terms relapse instead, to help addicts in their road to recovery. It is an incredibly important topic to discuss, and make sure there is ample knowledge amongst your friends and family about the dangers of the war we are in. 

Where can we find hope in fighting a war that cannot be won with all the artillery in the world? 

 https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/what-led-to-the-opioid-crisis-and-how-to-fix-it/

https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/epidemic/index.html

https://www.cnn.com/2016/09/23/health/heroin-opioid-drug-overdose-deaths-visual-guide/index.html

https://www.hhs.gov/opioids/about-the-epidemic/index.html

The Relationship between Native Africans and African Americans Today

The black community in America today is known for the prideful and celebratory aura it possesses. Whether online or in-person, there is never a moment where Black people in America pass up the opportunity to highlight and acknowledge accomplishments done by one another. Under the surface level of things, a culture disconnect between 2 groups of black people in America today raises concerns with the genuine acceptiveness of the Black community. This is presented between Native Africans and African Americans. 

The connection between Afro-Americans and Africans stems from the time of slavery. This begins with Africans originally in Africa making a way of life through craftsmanship, farming, and cattle-breeding. With an already established government and area of profit, Africans possessed skills deemed highly profitable and advantageous for the colonialist world. When Europeans were aware of this, they understood that taking control of Africans and using their expertise would allow them to develop the New World. As a result, Europeans developed the idea of transporting Africans to America, giving them no choice but to submit to their authority and work under their orders. This developed a system where a significant influx of Africans entered America and across European nations as enslaved people. They were mainly placed on plantations growing and harvesting sugar, tobacco, and rice. This system, which we know as slavery, went on for decades until the rise of the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation. With the signature of ex. President Abraham Lincoln, enslaved people were deemed free in 1865.

After eliminating slavery, the topic of race developed to be very controversial and problematic as Black people in America were not accepted as equal to the White race. This issue is still prevalent today. With the displacement of Black Americans, which resulted in them starting families here and further distinguishing themselves as African Americans, issues began to develop once native Africans were able to travel to America and moved to assimilate with African Americans established in America.

With this apparent difference in history that enforces a disconnect between Native Africans and African Americans in America, discussion frequently rises between the two parties regarding who has suffered and continues to suffer the most because of the history of Black people in America. In the perspective of African Americans, the perception of Africans who enter America now is taking advantage of the rights fought for by Black Americans. Because Africans who migrated to America came after slavery was outlawed, African Americans find it unjust that they can live off rights they did not fight for. On the other hand, native Africans find current African Americans insensitive to their upbringing in underdeveloped areas in Africa. Undevelopedment in Africa results from many factors, including the slave trade and colonialism. 

The upbringing of both native Africans and African Americans stands in the way of both parties' ability to sympathize with one another's unfortunate circumstances. This poses a risk to the Black community because it only brings further barriers to Black people from different ethnic backgrounds. With a history of trauma that continues to oppress the Black community today, the last thing needed is more separation amongst one another. While we can understand the different ethnicities present in the community itself, it does not serve to be used as a further categorization that blinds individuals in the Black community that we all represent one another.

Abua, J. (2020). The Fiasco between Africans and African-Americans. N.p.: UAb Institute for Human Rights Blog. Retrieved from https://sites.uab.edu/humanrights/2020/06/10/the-fiasco-between-africans-and-african-americans/