Opioid crisis: The 3 waves of the overdose epidemic in Arizona, explained
Numerous research studies and reports have found three waves of the opioid overdose epidemic in the U.S.
Here's how the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention breaks it down:
An increase in deaths from prescription opioid overdoses began during the 1990s.
An increase in heroin deaths starting in 2010.
A more recent surge in deaths from illicitly manufactured fentanyl.
The waves are interconnected and result from the original problem: widespread and aggressive prescribing of opioids for chronic pain. Opioid litigation subsequently blamed pharmaceutical companies for the damage.
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What's happening now with fentanyl is an outgrowth of what started in the 1990s, said Kim Humphrey, executive director of the Phoenix-based nonprofit Parents of Addicted Loved Ones.
"The reality is that those original ones, the oxycodone (OxyContin), they were designed as pain medication and fentanyl is their direct descendant," Humphrey said.
The result has been generations of people becoming dependent on opioids, which has caused job and housing loss as well as fractured families.
Humphrey is hopeful that a wide range of Arizonans, not just those who have been affected by opioids, will become interested in helping to combat the problem.
"Families are going bankrupt trying to deal with this. It's tearing apart marriages, it's tearing apart the whole structure of these families and their friends. It's a community problem," Humphrey said. " ... It's no longer, 'Oh, I will try just one pill.' That could be the first and the last one you try.
"It's a different game and it's extremely sad. We just keep losing them."
Reach the reporter at Stephanie.Innes@gannett.com or at 602-444-8369. Follow her on Twitter @stephanieinnes
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: The 3 waves of the opioid crisis in Arizona, explained
