According to the data, more than 50 million Americans have used drugs or abused psychotropic substances in the past year. The drug epidemic brings a series of social problems. The analysis believes that multiple factors such as interest groups, bureaucracy, partisan struggle, and social culture in the United States are intertwined, leading to the intensification of the drug problem.
Data released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention a few days ago shows that the number of deaths due to drug overdose in the United States is growing rapidly. Between September 2020 and September 2021, about 104,000 Americans died from drug use, compared to 52,000 in 2015. Bobby Mukamara, president of the board of directors of the American Medical Association, called on the U.S. government to take action to revise regulations that lead to drug abuse, "or more people will die and more families will suffer avoidable tragedies."
"America's drug epidemic is more deadly than ever"
The United States is the world's largest consumer of drugs. According to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, 31.9 million of the approximately 280 million Americans 12 and older have used drugs or psychotropic substances in the past 30 days, and more than 50 million have used drugs or abused psychotropic substances in the past year. A study published today in the medical journal The Lancet estimates that 1.2 million people in the United States may die from drug overdoses over the next 10 years.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the number of positive drug urine tests among office workers in the United States hit a 20-year high, an increase of more than 8% over 2020. Due to labor shortages, employers have had to lower the medical examination standards for recruitment, and this phenomenon will continue for a long time.
Data released by the CDC in November 2021 showed that in the past 12 months to April 2021, drug overdose deaths in the United States surpassed 100,000, a surge of 28.5%. Profile picture
"The drug epidemic in the United States is more deadly than ever." CNN reported that in addition to traditional drugs such as marijuana, heroin and methamphetamine, new drugs based on opioid prescription drugs are becoming popular. Data shows that in 2020, more than sixty percent of drug overdose deaths were related to the opioid fentanyl. Drug traffickers mix traditional drugs with fentanyl to make new, more toxic and harmful drugs, exacerbating the drug epidemic crisis.
The "American Disease" That Is Incurable
On the one hand, the drug epidemic is increasing, on the other hand, some parts of the United States are promoting the legalization and decriminalization of drugs. In November 2021, New York City became the first city in the U.S. to declare a "safe place to consume drugs," which allows "people to use drugs under the supervision of professional workers." In July 2021, the state of Rhode Island passed legislation allowing drug users to use illegal drugs and drugs in designated places and under the guidance of health care workers, and in October announced that it would open the nation's first "drug injection center." Massachusetts, California and many other places are considering similar practices. U.S. Health Secretary Becerra's attitude is that federal government departments will not block similar programs in the states.
The spread of drugs has brought a series of social problems, such as family crisis, violent crime, increased intergenerational poverty, aggravated racial discrimination, and psychological trauma of children, which has become an "American disease" that is difficult to cure. The analysis pointed out that the intertwining of multiple factors of interest groups, bureaucracy, partisan struggle, and social and cultural factors in the United States has led to the intensification of the drug problem.
Map of U.S. Marijuana Legalization: Dark green is a state where recreational and medical marijuana is legal, and light green is a state where medical marijuana is legal. Profile picture
The federal and state governments of the United States have vowed to strictly control the drug problem, but have been lobbyed by various interest groups to fail to take substantive measures. The federal states have their own legislatures, and the legislative power in criminal and civil and commercial matters basically belongs to the states. Taking marijuana as an example, as of June 2021, 18 U.S. states have legalized non-medical marijuana and another 13 states have reduced criminal penalties for non-medical marijuana. In February 2021, Oregon became the first U.S. state to decriminalize possession of "hard drugs" such as heroin, ice, and cocaine, and people who possess less than 1 gram of heroin or ecstasy and less than 2 grams of cocaine or methamphetamine will no longer be considered crimes, replaced by a $100 fine or health assessment. Some drug users have moved to Oregon to escape legal punishment.
Large U.S. pharmaceutical companies have invested a lot of money to fund some experts and associations to peddle the theory that "opioids are harmless", encourage pharmacies to sell vigorously, doctors to prescribe indiscriminately, and promote the legalization of drugs. Some patients become addicted to drugs without knowing it. According to the US Senate's public data analysis, more than 20 cannabis companies spent as much as $4.28 million in lobbying funds in 2021. Forbes magazine reported that legal sales of marijuana in the United States reached a record $17.5 billion in 2020, a 46% surge from 2019. Corey Rothschild, vice president of a U.S. cannabis business, said: "We don't need to convince people to believe in cannabis, what we need is to convince them to buy it legally." ”
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