The New York Times recently convened a panel of experts to debate what they woul

Question

The New York Times recently convened a panel of experts to debate what they would do with $100 billion, to spent over a 5-year period, in order to deal with the social problem of opioid addiction (and deaths).

please review the Times article below and answer the following questions.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/02/14/upshot/opioid-crisis-solutions.html

In the section focused on "Panelists who emphasized treatment," which of the policy efforts discussed do you think is most important and why? How would it effect the crisis?

In the section focused on "Panelists who emphasized demand," which of the policy efforts discussed do you think is most important and why? How would it affect the crisis?

Any other thoughts on this topic? Please feel free to offer some personal opinion/reflection.

Explanation / Answer

Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) is the use of FDA- approved medications, in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies, to provide a “whole-patient” approach to the treatment of substance use disorders. It is extremly important as opiates work by crossing the blood-brain barrier and attaching to receptors on brain cells. This triggers a the neurotransmitters and brain activity and produce the high. Medications like methadone, naltrexone and bupenorephrin act as agonist/antagonist. MAT idecreases risk of relapse and has also been shown to be effective in preventing infectious diseases like HIV. Medication-assisted therapy has also proved to be effective in preventing overdoses. Implementation of psychotherapy such as Behavioral therapy contributes to the prevention of relapse.

Post incarceration program is extremely important for vulnerable populations to avoid overdose mortality. MAT can be implemented among these population. Also community development in essential for whole population in general so that one does not fall to prey to opioid addiction or other kind of addiction for that matter. The sense of belongingess and being a part of a community is extremely important. The community should acknowledge the problems and needs of the person (mentally, physically and financially) and become a rallying point for collective action. Apart from this, support groups are vital resources for the families of drug addicts. Education about the harms and effects of substance abuse should be made aware in order to prevent alleviate addiction.

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