The use and addiction of opioids–pain relievers–such as heroin and morphine is a serious global issue that affects the health, social, and economic welfare of people everywhere.  It is estimated that between 26.4 million and 36 million people abuse opioids worldwide. An estimated 2.1 million people in the United States suffer from substance abuse disorders related to opioid pain relievers while an estimated 467,000 are addicted to heroin. This serious opioid addiction has caught the attention of the public and the Obama administration.

This epidemic has caused the president himself to speak out against this nefarious issue. According to WMUR News, President Barack Obama stated he planned to put aside more than $1 billion dollars for a treatment plan in order to assist addicts and help lower the opioid epidemic. The density of the epidemic became more evident on March 29, 2016 when a toddler was admitted to the hospital after accidentally overdosing on a dangerous opioid, heroin. The child was later taken into police custody and an investigation was conducted to find out if foul play was involved.

The overall abuse of opioids is an issue for the population of the United States and it’s now affecting the workplace of some companies. According to WWLP News, the addiction affects those in a work environment. There were reported cases of people taking pills at work and distributing them.

This greater availability of opioids and other prescribed drugs goes hand and hand with alarming increases in the negative consequences related to their abuse. For example, the estimated number of emergency department visits involving nonmedical use of opioid analgesics, or pain relievers, increased from 144,600 in 2004 to 305,900 in 2008. Treatment admissions for primary abuse of opiates other than heroin increased from one percent of all admissions in 1997 to five percent in 2007. Overdose deaths due to prescription opioid pain relievers have more than tripled in the past 20 years, escalating to 16,651 deaths in the United States in 2010.

After interviewing Mr. Berumen, he stated the money President Barack Obama is trying to spend on this new treatment plan should be spent on something else: he did not want to specify what exactly. He also felt this treatment won’t be put into action considering President Obama’s term is almost up.