Opioid addiction is not limited to ages, races, social class or gender of people, but everyone is a possible user. Opioid addiction and abuse in the United States is rising at an alarming pace. Opioids like Percocet, oxycodone, and Vicodin are among the drugs predominantly recommended to patients for pain relief. The continuous utilization of opioids, however, can result in overreliance and addiction. Michel and Loscalzo (2015) indicated that patients that become over-reliant on the drugs often turn to the streets to acquire more; but based on the expensive price tag of about eighty dollars for each pill, addicts alternatively go for a cheaper drug. In several instances, people become dependent and tolerant to the drug and would require larger doses at a time to feel the effect ( Rudd, Aleshire, Zibbell, & Gladden, 2016) . Several Americans are suffering from opioid misuse and addiction resulting from overdoses, as they become over-dependent on the drugs.
Opioid Crisis is an Important Political Issue
The CDC revealed that opioids lead to the death of about one hundred Americans every day. Over the past one decade, above half a million individuals have perished because of opioid overdoses. Today, the statistics determine that above 60 percent of deaths caused by overdose is because of indulging in opioids, multiplying since 2005 (Dart, Surratt, Cicero, Parrino, Servertson, Bucher-Bartelson, & Green, 2015) . Opioid misuse and abuse is increasing in numbers as well as involving individuals from different backgrounds who indulge in the drugs. Millions more Americans are suffering from being addicted to opioids.
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The opioid crisis has attained such a level, in which besides the risks it presents to public health, it is also dragging the economy down and it is being a political issue. Scholars have indicated the issue began with over prescription of legal pain drugs such oxycodone. The US government has mobilized efforts to reduce global and domestic supplies of opioids (Hall, West, Marsden, Humphreys, Neale, & Petry, 2018) . Federal and state representatives have made efforts to bring down demand by concentrating less on punishing drug users and channeling more funds in treating them. This situation has also created the experimentation of various policies to solve the opioid issue.
President Trump’s Plan to Address the Opioid Crises
President Trump’s government committed to strengthen susceptible families and communities, and ensure a robust, healthier as well as a drug-free country. The initiatives that President Trump committed to eradicating opioid abuse will counter factors that promote the opioid crisis. This includes over-prescription, illegal drug supplies and limited availability of evidence-founded treatment, prevention, and recovery programs ( Rudd et al., 2016) . The demand for drugs will be cut down through education, creating awareness and hindering over-prescribing the drugs. The government of Trump has also demonstrated efforts to eliminate the flow of illegal drugs through its borders and within communities. The president also plans to collaborate with non-governmental organizations to the commitment of saving lives by extending opportunities for established treatments for opioid and other forms of drug misuses and addiction (Michel & Loscalzo, 2015) . This step will ensure that those who cannot afford the treatment will certainly be saved from death and find a solution.
The government of Trump is also committed to reducing the demand for opioid drugs as well as over-prescription. President Trump’s opioid plans to intensify education on the risks involved in abusing opioid and other forms of drug use. He will ensure this by launching a countrywide evidence-founded crusade to create awareness to the public concerning the dangers of seeking for inappropriate prescription and illegal opioid use ( Rudd et al., 2016) . The government will channel more funds to institutions to intensify research and development efforts for enhanced technologies and more therapies intended to avert addiction and bring down the utilization of opioids for pain management (Dart et al., 2015) . Alternatives such as non-addictive pain management choices could be used. Over prescription of opioids by the doctors will also be regulated because it is what motivates the Americans to a path of addiction or create the chances for illicit use.
The government will also be committed to reducing the supply of both global and local illegal drug supply chains disturbing American communities. Trump wants to ensure that dangerous drugs are kept out of the country (Hall et al., 2018) . He will ensure this by protecting land boundaries, ports of entry and water bodies in which illegal drug trafficking takes place most of the time. The government will also ensure advance electronic information are attained for 90 percent of all global mail shipments and consignment batches within 3 years so that the Department of Homeland Security easily eliminates highly risky consignments (Michel & Loscalzo, 2015) . They could do this by employing highly advanced screening machines and utilizing drug-detecting canines.
The Efficacy of Trump’s Approach
The approach will work if the focus removed from paper and implemented practically. The response to the opioid crisis is happening currently at slow pace, creating overwhelming consequences on our country. These efforts should be complemented by extensively addressing the aspect of doctors overprescribing opioid painkillers and intensifying education concerning the impacts of opioid painkillers (Hall et al., 2018) . Increasing public education should be done on the negative impacts of opioid utilization. While dealing with over prescription of opioid painkillers, the government should also lay a framework on monitoring programs. They should also prevent the entrance of such illegal drugs into the nation and most significantly, they need to reinforce their efforts in addiction treatment ( Rudd et al., 2016) . They can do this better by ensuring that no corrupt deals are encouraged in the ports of entry, land borders as well as waterways.
Trumps’ recommended plan can be effective because of the planned employment of innovative screening technologies and utilizing drug-detecting canines. To avoid illegal drugs or contents of opioid from entering the country, any suspected substances should be identified and examined. These international packages of substances should be investigated first before their use, which might lead to harm ( Rudd et al., 2016) . Collaborating with China is also significant in that Trump expands coordination with Mexico so that the purchase of heroin, other illegal substances, and stimulating chemicals are reduced accordingly. The Department of Justice (DOJ) should also be reinforced to deal with the over prescription of opioid crisis (Dart et al., 2015) . When the Prescription Interdiction and Litigation (PIL) is empowered, the opioid fraud and abuse detection unit will be effective to deal with dishonest or criminally careless doctors, pharmacies as well as distributors of the drugs.
Relationship of Trump’s Approach to "Dreamland" by Sam Quinones
Sam Quinones narrates the profoundly unsettling story of how opium is marketed in a semi-processed state after being produced and smuggled. The book exposes the extensive promotion of pain management pills in the United States. The opioid crisis has led to the demise of many people, particularly the users. The approach of Trump is not multifaceted compared to the minute details that Quinones raises in his book. The Department of Justice needs to be thorough in terms of investigating everyone who can possibly be smuggling opioid drugs. The author indicates that the tactic, which Mexican utilizes in opioid trafficking, is a customer-centric business so that it is easily detected (Dart et al., 2015) . For instance, the Mexicans are comfortably smuggling and marketing drugs filled in balloons. The government has vowed to reinforce the borders so that illicit drugs are not introduced into the country, particularly from Mexico. Trump has considered collaborating with China to bar the Mexicans from bringing in opioids and other drugs to the land.
Conclusion
The response to the opioid crisis in the United States is slow, which is why most people are still dying. The government should intensify its efforts to cut down the introduction of opioid drugs into the country. They should also mobilize the security officials at the borders so that illegal entry and smuggling of the drugs are prevented. Alternative prescriptions should be utilized for pain relief management instead of opioids. However, if the government aggressively implements its plan, a possible sharp decrease will be realized in the consumption of the drugs and even the number of deaths that occur daily.
References
Dart, R. C., Surratt, H. L., Cicero, T. J., Parrino, M. W., Severtson, S. G., Bucher-Bartelson, B., & Green, J. L. (2015). Trends in opioid analgesic abuse and mortality in the United States. New England Journal of Medicine , 372 (3), 241-248.
Hall, W., West, R., Marsden, J., Humphreys, K., Neale, J., & Petry, N. (2018). It is premature to expand access to medicinal cannabis in hopes of solving the US opioid crisis. Addiction , 113 (6), 987-988.
Michel, T., & Loscalzo, J. (2015). Shifting patterns of prescription opioid and heroin abuse in the United States. Mars , 372 , 241-8.
Rudd, R. A., Aleshire, N., Zibbell, J. E., & Gladden, R. M. (2016). Increases in drug and opioid overdose deaths—United States, 2000–2014. American Journal of Transplantation , 16 (4), 1323-1327.
