Unveiling the Opioid Crisis: Effects on Youth, Health, and Public Intervention in Flint, Michigan - Essay Sample

Introduction

The opioid epidemic has become a terrible trademark for the City of Flint. The vice has resulted in a series of problems including crime, overdoes, addiction, and even death. This causes the city to channel developmental funds to address emergencies and protect its citizens from drugs (City of Flint, 2019). This issue is so relevant that the City of Flint is struggling to provide the required services to the increasingly overwhelming numbers of people who are affected by the opioid epidemic. It has become so pervasive that it is hard to find anyone who has not been touched by it in one way or another. The abuse and trafficking of drugs such as Marijuana, heroin, and pharmaceutical drugs have become a persistent threat in the Michigan region (U.S. Department of Justice, 2007). This contributes to the increase in criminal activities in the region that are associated with Chaldean criminals, fraud, drug addiction, and money laundering among others. So how is the prevalence of drug abuse and its associated effects among the users and the City of Flint Michigan?

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Drug Abuse Results in Violence and Injury among the Youth of Flint Michigan.

Violence is a leading cause of injury among youth between 15 and 24 years old and is strongly associated with drug abuse. The evidence behind it arises from the study of Bohnert et al. (2015), where 57% of all the youth in the sample met the criteria for drug use. The reason behind this is the poor mental health and greater substance abuse among the youth. This arises from the consistent use and abuse of drugs.

Results from the Flint Youth Injury study indicate a daily pattern of substance use and development of violence among the high-risk urban population (Carter et al., 2020). Alcohol and Marijuana are recorded as the most frequently used substances in a 90-day daily study. The study found that 27% of violent conflicts arose from alcohol while 23% were preceded by drugs. (Carter et al., 2020) The daily violence was, however, drawn from same-day binge drinking, and illicit prescription of drug use. This kind of violence was attributed to same-day binge drinking, daily illicit drug use, anxiety, and retaliatory attitudes.

There is a trend of theft and violence resulting from the increased retaliatory violence against drugs and drug dealers in the Flint region. This violence arises from the high levels of abuse, and property crime among others (Drislane et al., 2019). The violence may also arise from increasing crack distributors within the region, who engage in violent drug and monetary theft from established dealers (U.S. Department of Justice, 2007). In addition to violent behaviors, drug abuse results in health problems for its users in Flint Michigan.

Drug Abuse Negatively Affects the Health of the Users in Flint Michigan

Overdose is a leading cause of injury and death in the United States. According to Bohnert et al. (2018), patients in the emergency department record an elevated prevalence of substance use. The study on the participants of the city of Flint, Michigan found binge drinking to be associated with a medically serious overdose when compared to not having an overdose. The users also tend to suffer from various health disorders (Drislane et al., 2019).

The drug abusers also suffer from disorders that result from daily binge drinking. According to Bohnert et al. (2015), over half of all youth in the emergency department met the criteria for substance use disorder. This stems from daily substance use. Another study by Bohnert et al. (2018) shows that the intent for self-harm was more common for opioid or sedative overdoses. Opioid users, especially polysubstance users, stand a risk of overdose to medically serious states. Finally, the impact of drug use on the economy of Flint at large cannot be ruled out.

Drug Abuse Disrupts the Public Health Practices and Interventions in Flint Michigan

With the prevalence of the opioid epidemic throughout the United States, practitioners, and researchers require additional tools to address its use and prevent overdose. Some sub-populations and specific geographical regions are more burdened by overdoses than others. For Flint, the geographical clusters with high opioid doses are somewhat poorer but significantly whiter than the average Flint neighborhood (Sadler & Furr-Holden, 2019).

There are various reasons behind the difficulties for public health interventions in Flint concerning opioid abuse. First, the treatment sites failed to coincide with the location of overdose death clusters, hence suggesting a need for geographically targeted interventions. Due to the extent of the epidemic in Flint, there is a need for better tools for prevention and treatment to intervene in the opioid epidemic (Sadler & Furr-Holden, 2019). There is, therefore, a need for treatment sites and the application of environmental strategies to combat the opioid epidemic.

Conclusion

To conclude, drug abuse provides a myriad of effects to the users and the City of Flint Michigan. It results in violence and injury among the youth of Flint Michigan, negatively affects the health of the users, and disrupts the public health practices and interventions for Flint Michigan. It is clear that drug abuse has strained the City’s resources and established another challenge for the community of Flint Michigan. However, the only thing that will restore and rebuild the City of Flint in the wake of these devastating cries is the resilience and preserving nature of its citizens.

References

Bohnert, A. et al. (2018, November). Overdose and adverse drug event experiences among adult patients in the emergency department. ScienceDirect. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306460317304380

Bohnert, K. et al. (2015, February). Understanding the service needs of assault-injured, drug-using youth presenting for care in an Urban Emergency Department. ScienceDirect. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306460314003104

Carter, P. et al. (2020, February). Daily patterns of substance use and violence among a high-risk urban emerging adult sample: Results from the Flint youth injury study. ScienceDirect. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306460319308093

City of Flint (2019, February 19). The opioid lawsuit seeks recovery of Flint, Michigan, Tax dollars, and compensation from drug manufacturers. The city of Flint. https://www.cityofflint.com/wp-content/uploads/NEWS-RELEASE-Opiod-announcement.pdf

Drislane, L. et al. (2019, August 10). Therapist and computer-based brief interventions for drug use within a randomized controlled trial: effects of parallel trajectories of alcohol use, cannabis use, and anxiety symptoms. Wiley Online Library. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/add.14781

Sadler, R., & Furr-Holden, D. (2019, November). The epidemiology of opioid overdose in Flint and Genesee County, Michigan: Implications for public health practice and intervention. ScienceDirect. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0376871619303370

U.S. Department of Justice (2007). Michigan; High-intensity drug trafficking area. Justice.gov. https://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs23/23914/23914p.pdf