Solving Americas Drug Problem

Solving Americas Drug Problem Among a Younger Demographic

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Solving Americas Drug Problem

Introduction/Background
Here is an idea you could imagine or have quite possibly experienced yourself.
Picture an average day at school and all of sudden news about a certain peer is spreading
across the school like a wild fire. That something is that they have just overdosed on
some sort of drug or more specifically opiates or heroin. Across America this has become
something that has touched countless high schools. As a community we usually come
together and try to put an end to this sort of thing but its already too late. We should try
and put an end to this before it happens.
It is almost impossible to avoid the influence of drugs through media but this
influence could easily be overlooked if children had the mental strength to ignore it.
Times have changed and keeping kids away from this technology that leads to influence
is hard. Throughout this paper I will be researching several cases and studies on drug
abuse and how it is negatively affecting our country, also I will introduce my plan to stop
it.
The focus of my research will focus on opiate and heroin abuse among a younger
demographic, how it is approached, how it has failed, and what we can do to stop it. A
major problem that has led up to this drug problem is that we havent done anything to

Solving Americas Drug Problem

prevent it. It is obvious that kids need more than just a one-year course on how drugs are
bad to get a hold of the actual horror of drug use. Most kids take a course in elementary
school and go on summer break and forget all about it, terrible, right? I will be giving my
detailed plan that stops this problem and gives America a better and healthier future. This
program is called S.M.A.R.T..
Throughout high school I have seen more than a handful of live drastically
touched by opiate and heroin abuse. I have seen two kids overdose, two kids be sent off
to detox and rehab, and I have seen kids trying to mask their addiction because they dont
have anyone they can talk to about it. Having such a close experience to these drug
problems has given me a strong view on it and a passion to put an end to it.

Literature Review
Drug addition, specifically opioid pill abuse, is undeniably a growing problem in
the United States. But, to understand the depth of this problem it is necessary to examine
three key aspects: Painkiller availability through parent prescriptions, getting it off the
streets, and getting treatment for abusers instead of throwing them in jail. Opioids have
been around and used for thousands of years. They have a euphoric effect on humans and
can cause serious addiction. Over the last few years the U.S. has seen a rise in use and a
change in the profile of who uses it. Research has suggested that the users are usually
young white males within the middle class. (Brooks, 2004) This change in profile gives
the use of heroin a new home, whether it is in a school or at a high school party. Recently
in a small town in Pennsylvania several overdoses have occurred on school grounds
leading to death. This has caused uproar in the town and it is only one town out of

Solving Americas Drug Problem

hundreds that face heroin addiction. This uproar was not only caused by heroin addiction
but by the profile of the heroin users, young, white, middle class kids. (Block, 2016) As
this addiction among Americans grows, health officials are looking for answers. They
have found that people who use heroin have most likely abused opiate painkiller
prescriptions. This use of painkillers medication has primed people for their new heroin
addiction. They concluded these observations by trying to crack down on heroin sales,
making sure prescriptions are necessary, and providing treatment. (Harris, 2015)
According to research done by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention,
painkiller prescriptions and abuse are among the top reasons for heroin abuse. This
correlation has seen a dramatic increase over the past six years and is continuing to rise.
Research has also said that most prescriptions are legitimate and they cannot be stopped
and if they were people would turn to the black market for heroin or other painkillers.
(NPR, 2013) Another step in stopping heroin addiction is enforcing the law to get rid of
the drug. In one town, the police changed their tactics on stopping heroin use and
trafficking. When it came to heroin trafficking they began to investigate deeper into
smaller heroin crimes that could lead them to bigger bust. They also devised ways to stop
the sell of heroin by parking outside of certain homes, which would cause any buyer from
walking near that home. When it came to finding simple heroin addicts and not dealers
they stopped throwing them in jail and instead put them in a rehabilitation clinic to get
them clean. (Keck, 2016) Recently, getting their town clean isnt easy as a few small
organizations getting together. They are reaching out to the government for funding and
for patients to receive insurance coverage for their treatments. Some states still dont
allow Medicaid to cover the expenses of addiction treatment. The people that are for

Solving Americas Drug Problem

insurance coverage claim that it is a mental illness just like other mental illnesses that the
insurance companies cover. (McLellan, 2000)
The conversation of coverage for addiction treatment still lingers today and is
argued all the time. Illinois, one of the remaining states that didnt cover addiction
treatment with Medicaid has allowed for after strong opposition. Illinois is leading the
country with heroin overdoses and that shows a strong correlation with the fact that they
didnt have insurance coverage. (Schaper, 2015) The government plays a major role in
funding for rehabs and therefore has a huge say in what gets done. With the current
economic state of some major cities and in this example Chicago sever budget cuts have
taken place. One of the major cuts is the government funding for opioid addiction. This
cut has happened at an all time high for opioid and heroin overdoses as well. The
argument they are putting forth to government so the funding will return is that heroin
users are spending more public money with out treatment than with it by being in jail. I
believe in rehabilitation and believe that it is the best way for addicts to recover and
addiction to end. (Schaper, 2015) These accusations that they should be put in treatment
centers is also backed by several organizations claiming that users are thrown in jail due
to their addiction which also happens to be breaking the law. They see their addiction as
the reason for the crimes committed and that if they stop the addiction they can stop the
crime resulting in a long-term resolution. This is exemplified by the hypothetical situation
stated in a proposal document called TASC. (Mecca, 2010)
Entering the Conversation
After reviewing several sources, hearing personal stories, and seeing it with my
own eyes, heroin and opiate abuse are a huge problem among the youth of America. It

Solving Americas Drug Problem

seems that the communities especially affected by the abuse tend to start working towards
solutions after the incidents occur. (Block, 2016) Its great that these communities are
coming together to stop any more abuse but why did they ever let it happen. Programs
across the nation target elementary students very early to educate them on the harmful
affects of drugs, but I believe this is too early for the children to get a grasp of what drugs
can really do. From my experience in North Carolina and several of my friends from
other states, these programs also stop after they enter middle school, does an elementary
kid really remember everything they were taught before 5th grade? I know I dont
remember everything from the program and I won second place overall on an anti drug
paper. I believe that these programs should be provided for the students all the way
through their high school graduation, giving the students true and visual facts on what
drugs can do and giving them tools to stray their minds away from drugs.
People seem to argue that the children should know better and they should be
taught the consequences at home, but how can they do that when a major cause of the
drug abuse starts in their home. One problem that occurs in the household is that their
parents prescriptions are the main reasons the kids can get their hands on the opiates.
Another reason is media. Media almost controls and shapes the minds of our youth and
can set a huge negative impact on how our youth thinks. This media includes; reality tv,
music, and fictional shows. In every one of those categories you can find some source
that glamorizes drug abuse. (Strasburger, 2010) To get rid of these influences I have put
together a plan of action called S.M.A.R.T..
S.M.A.R.T. or Smart is defined as Support, Mission, Achieve, Retain, and Talk.
These five words are a major factor in keeping kids away form drugs and giving them a

Solving Americas Drug Problem

reason to. By supporting them, we show that we care, and for many children they may
not have someone in their life that truly cares about them. Mission, this is the biggest part
of Smart that will help kids say no to drugs. Mission is the idea that kids will set goals,
not goals that they forget about after a day, but goals that they actually keep track of and
have reviewed by their support. Achieve, achieving their goals is huge and to achieve
goals, drugs are never a good mix. Retain, they need to retain their knowledge of drugs
and of they can negatively affect their life from elementary school all the way to
graduation. This will ensure a strong knowledge of drugs. Summing up the acronym is
talk, talking through problems and thoughts of drug use can be huge. Being able to talk
to someone can be the fine line of becoming an addict or keeping sober.
I believe that this will not only support kids from using drugs but also give them
the opportunity to strive for success. This type of engagement will help kids look past the
reality TV shows and music that continuously talks about drug use. Giving kids the
knowledge of drug abuse is one thing but giving them reason not to use the drugs is a
totally different area that present drug awareness organizations dont offer.
Here a platform on how I would go about executing this plan.
Support: Every school should have at the least five professionals per grade that can go to
each of their students and talk about their goals and how they can reach them. These
professionals will stick with their specific class throughout the remainder of grade school.
This support should be taken very seriously by the staff and should truly benefit the
children. This should take place every other week and if support is needed within those
gaps it will be offered.

Solving Americas Drug Problem

Mission: This is the part where students set their goals. These arent goals they come up
with off the top of their head and write down a piece of notebook paper that gets thrown
into the depths of their book bag. These are goals that the children set, stick to, review,
and follow through with. These goals could include things they are interested in such a
crafts and hobbies, sports, and academics. Goals are set as long term and short term,
having the same support every year also helps with the long-term goals.
Achieve: One of the best feelings a person can have is achieving a goal. It should be
stressed to the children how goals can be interrupted by drug use and can lead them down
the opposite road. Achieving multiple goals throughout grade school can easily turn into a
habit and set them up for success in college and their future.
Retain: One of the biggest problems in todays drug awareness programs is that the kids
arent retaining the information. By having this program offered to them for several years
they have a way higher chance of retaining information about drug abuse and always
know what the consequences can be.
Talk: Each session, the idea of talking has to have a huge presence. Students should be
willing to talk about their goals and thoughts. Talking is taught as a tool for the students.
They should talk about their goals and ideas with their parents as well and keep an open
conversation. Maybe at a younger age, an optional tool could be that Support can have
contact with the parents to keep track of home life and how things are going.
In contrast to my proposal I could see where parents may take offense to this type
of program, feeling that they are being out parented. I would like the program to be very
open with the parents and have continuous contact, giving the parent the right to raise
their children with the right ideas as well. For most kids, especially the demographic that

Solving Americas Drug Problem

has been shown abusing drugs, have hard working parents who cant always stir their kids
down the right path. (Brooks, 2004) In this type of situation it would be very beneficial
for the parents to buy into the program and allow it to teach their children.
Another issue that will most definitely arise is funding. Funding seems to run
most school programs or rather shut them down, but before this interrupts the program
lets take into consideration the cost of rehabilitation and violence that occurs from drugs
aforementioned in the article TASC (Mecca, 2010) This article explained that it would be
cheaper to give the addicts rehab instead of throwing them in jail. What im proposing is
that we never let our children get to the point of needing rehabilitation, overall saving
tons of money.
Conclusion
Overall, after reviewing numerous sources, having several conversations, and
experiencing this issue, I believe that my program would best suit the problem we are
facing. This drug addiction is overwhelming and unproductive, we need our children to
be in the best physical and mental states they can be in to keep our nation strong. Our
youth is going to one day be the leaders of America and we need them to choose the right
path by avoiding drugs and eliminating them from their minds.

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References
Brooks, A. (2004, February 23). Heroin in America. Retrieved March 13, 2016, from
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1688762
Harris, R. (2015, July 7). Heroin Use Surges, Especially Among Women And Whites.
Retrieved March 13, 2016, from http://www.npr.org/sections/healthshots/2015/07/07/420874860/heroin-use-surges-especially-among-women-andwhites

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Keck, N. (2016, January 30). Tragedy Moves A Community To Combat Drug Addiction.
Retrieved March 13, 2016, from
http://www.npr.org/2016/01/30/463952989/tragedy-moves-a-community-tocombat-drug-addiction
McLellan, T., PhD. (2000, October 4). Drug Dependence, a Chronic Medical Illness.
Retrieved March 13, 2016, from http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?
articleid=193144
Mecca, A., MPH. (2010, February 24). TASC (Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime).
Retrieved March 14, 2016, from
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1300/J418v02n03_11
Rodolico, J. (2016, January 11). Anatomy Of Addiction: How Heroin And Opioids Hijack
The Brain. Retrieved March 13, 2016, from http://www.npr.org/sections/healthshots/2016/01/11/462390288/anatomy-of-addiction-how-heroin-and-opioidshijack-the-brain
Schaper, D. (2015, September 2). Illinois House Leaders Override Governor's Veto On
Heroin Addiction Bill. Retrieved March 13, 2016, from
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/09/02/437057914/illinois-houseleaders-override-governors-veto-on-heroin-addiction-bill
Schaper, D. (2015, August 18). Heroin Crisis Ups Demand For Treatment As Program
Funding Is Cut. Retrieved March 13, 2016, from
http://www.npr.org/2015/08/18/432683627/heroin-crisis-ups-demand-fortreatment-as-program-funding-is-cut

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Staff, N. (2013, November 2). With Rise Of Painkiller Abuse, A Closer Look At Heroin.
Retrieved March 13, 2016, from
http://www.npr.org/2013/11/02/242594489/with-rise-of-painkiller-abuse-acloser-look-at-heroin
Strasburger,V.C.,MD.(2010,October).Children,Adolescents,SubstanceAbuse,and
theMedia.RetrievedApril08,2016,from
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/126/4/791