Human beings- what remarkable creatures! We have existed and endured for thousands of years through change. On a planet that is constantly revolving with its inhabitants evolving, we have overcome so much and continued to thrive through stimulated conditions. We have created cures to diseases that ran rampant at one point in time. We have adapted through the industrial revolution and brought ourselves from the stone age into “the future.” We have co-existed despite elements of violence and diversity. It really seems that there is nothing we can’t overcome as long as the world keeps turning.
However, living in a world where rudiments of disease and struggle remain ever prevalent, survival becomes the basic instinct. Yes we adapt to our problems and we continue to put one foot constantly in front of the other, but what do we do when there is an epidemic at hand? A scourge that is stealing the lives of thousands across the land.
Essentially the United States is going through a large opiate contagion that is spreading like wildfire. The pharmaceuticals flood the streets from state to state. With a few states like Ohio and Kansas already widely known to be suffering from the overdose toll, the opioid crisis in Texas is one for the record books.
Texas to Stand Up and Fight
Yes yes, certainly it’s not a shock to anybody reading this that the largest state in the southern U.S. is also undergoing this chemical phenomenon. Records show that in 2015, of the 33,000 overdose deaths recorded across the nation, the opioid crisis in Texas was responsible for a little more than 3% of those deaths. Since 2015, pharmaceutical access and overdose rates have only skyrocketed across the entirety of the country.
Opioids happen to be one of the biggest problems because of the conglomeration of doctors out there over prescribing their patients. Often times you will see doctors handing out opiates in some form or another because of a pay cut they might get for promoting the medication. Or sometimes it’s just the doctor gets them so easily from the pharmaceutical companies that he or she will strike deals with patients and write off large quantities at a time. Opioids will not solve your problem but only mask it- whether physical or mental. This isn’t something to cold shoulder anymore. I hope finally the higher ups of our country are starting to see the brutal effects of opiates nationwide on top of the ever daunting opioid crisis in Texas. I hope.
The number of deaths piling up has finally caught the attention of the Senate and various congressional positions in the state. $27.4 million is being funded to the state in accordance with guarding off the opioid crisis in Texas. That’s a large number sure- but will it be enough aid to start ending or sending this epidemic in the right direction?
Send in the Reinforcements
$27.4 million spent on addiction treatment services will tap out really quickly, but there’s no question about it that a little help is better than nothing. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission will grant this money to battle the opioid crisis in Texas and will go on to improve conditions for those suffering from mental illness and the disease of alcoholism. Such forms of help will show up as:
- Expanding capacity and access to opioid treatment sites across the state and eliminating the current waitlist for services.
- Increasing training and technical assistance to providers and prescribers to ensure the use of best practices for preventing and treating opioid addiction.
- Enhancing recovery services and peer-to-peer supports.
- Boosting outreach activities by coordinating with state agency partners, crisis teams at Local Mental Health Authorities, HIV outreach workers, and peer re-entry pilot programs.
Once again, although the money is minimal for the destruction that is being wreaked by the many forms of opiates partnered with the pharmaceutical companies- this is a fantastic leap in the right direction. Grants being passed like this is what is needed to start turning things around. Really once Big Pharma is shut down, that’s when the healing can begin, sadly that reality doesn’t seem to exist on this timeline anywhere in the too near future.
Storming the Gates of Addiction
The funds being put into place to fight the opioid crisis in Texas will allow for so much positive change. The money being put into play will help The Texas Health and Human Services Commission focus on specific rural and urban regions of Texas. This focus will then go in turn to help groups of people who live in major metropolitan areas or women who are pregnant and postpartum. It will also center in on individuals that may be at an increased risk of developing opioid addiction issues including war veterans and those that are or have been treated for pain over time. Addiction always shows up in different forms depending on the many situational elements that occur, but it needs to be handled usually in the same manner. There is no running from this epidemic or the opioid crisis in Texas. The reality of the situation is that people with alcoholic thinking want to do what they want to do. We tend to have a difficult time separating our wants from our needs. It’s easy for people with our addictive mindsets to slip into a manner of unhealthy thinking or start justifying our actions in silly ways.
Fighting to Live
Texas along with a few other states has been suffering under the tyrant of addiction for far too long- finally some action is being taken for the people. These are human lives just like yours or mine that are disappearing like a candle in the wind overnight. Don’t fall victim to this disease- especially when the resources are available. If you or a loved one has been struggling to make the next step, please call 1-866-433-1992 or visit www.anylength.net. We have trained specialists on standby ready to help you start sending your life in a direction that will have you come out on top feeling healthy and happy with the outcome of your future. The time to love yourself is now.