Opioids In The 1920's

In the 1920s, a period of prosperity encompassed the United States. Called “The Roaring Twenties,” this time period consisted of affluent economic growth and change to a more modern culture. Americans investors felt optimistic and bought stocks on margin, not realizing that stocks could go down. However, at the end of the decade, the stock market crashed, marking the end of this prosperous era.

Coinciding with this time period, drug use rose in the United States. For example, addictive drugs could be found in everyday products that people consumed. Despite the fact that “The Roaring Twenties” was also the time of the Prohibition Era and the banning of various drugs, Americans increasingly defied the rules and turned to drugs in order to feel

Opioids are a class of drugs that relieve pain by acting on the nervous system. Even though many people receive these drugs as a prescription in order to relieve pain, over-medication often occurs, causing people to become hooked to these drugs. Also, many humans find ways to illegally obtain these drugs. According to the article, “The Opioid Epidemic: A Crisis Years in the Making” by Maya Salam, drug overdoses serve as “the leading cause of death for Americans under 50 years old — killing roughly 64,000 people last year” (The New York Times). Additionally, more Americans die every year from opioid overdoses than from car accidents or guns (The New York Times). Although these statistics are terrifying, high levels of action have not yet been taken. A reason for the lack of action on this issue could be the fact that so many individuals focus on the good feelings that opioids or other drugs provide them that they do not recognize the fact that drugs serve as more of a problem to society rather than a solution to their problems when feeling down. When individuals fall under the influence of drugs, they cannot fully recognize what is wrong with both their actions, or inactions, as well as the actions of their society as a whole. The government recognizes the problem and does not try to hide it, unlike in Brave New World. This difference between our society and that of Brave New World lies in the fact that while our government yearns to simply keep us under control, the World State desires to completely control their citizens by providing them with soma rations to stop them from speaking out against the government. Nevertheless, individuals in our society remain not fully aware of the problem. In order to find solutions to this rising epidemic, people who recognize the problem must spread their knowledge to help those already facing the