Opioid Deaths to Reach 1.22 Million by 2029 If Things Don’t Change

A HOLD FreeRelease 3 | eTurboNews | eTN
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Written by Linda Hohnholz

United Recovery Project (URP) has had its finger on the pulse of the growing opioid epidemic for years. URP cofounder Brian Alzate and his team have intimately seen the factors that have led to the ongoing crisis. In recent years, in particular, the opioid crisis has been exacerbated by things like horrendous behavior from big pharma companies, pandemic isolation and fear, and the introduction of fast-killing overdose substances like synthetic fentanyl.

A recent report released on February 2nd found that the opioid epidemic is projected to claim 1.22 million U.S. lives between 2020 and 2019 if nothing changes. The Stanford-Lancet report references things like “unrestrained profit-seeking” and “regulatory failure” which sparked the epidemic a quarter of a century ago and haven’t significantly changed since.

Along with a foreboding future, the information regarding the opioid death rate up to this point is extremely sobering. The data revealed that the death rate since 1999 has been worse than the lowest moments of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In addition, the death total has now topped the collective total of deaths suffered by the U.S. and Canada during both World Wars.

One of the key solutions proposed by Stanford Medicine’s Keith Humphreys, Ph.D., is to shift from thinking of addiction as a moral failing and, instead, focusing on it as a health problem. Humphreys adds that “Yes, this is an illness. Yes, it is treatable. And yes, you have a chance to recover.”

This viewpoint is shared by the team at United Recovery Project, as well. Two-thirds of the founders of the addiction treatment program are recovering addicts and the staff that the organization has assembled is intimately acquainted with the struggle to break out of a life of drug addiction and substance abuse.

That’s why URP has taken an innovative, individualized approach with its program. “Everyone’s circumstances are different,” explains URP cofounder Bryan Alzate, adding that “we take this into account by providing custom tailored treatment plans for each person. Over 95% of the staff members at URP are in recovery themselves and have a vested interest in helping others along their recovery journey.”

The severity of the ongoing opioid epidemic can be seen through the fact that it has captured headlines, even during the ongoing pandemic. If steps aren’t taken to respond by providing real, effective, long-term help to those struggling with addiction, the crisis will only get worse over time.

URP is working hard to lead that response. The program is rapidly growing in popularity and is positioned as a beacon of hope as it stands on the front lines of the ongoing fight. Its informed staff, quality resources, and luxury facilities provide precisely the kind of addiction support that is needed in a world struggling to figure out how to react to the opioid epidemic as it now stands.

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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