The Opioid Crisis: Treatment Efficacy and Comparison to Canada

The opioid crisis refers to the significant number of overdoses and deaths in America over the last three decades due to the increased prescription and circulation of opioids. In my thesis, I will examine the treatment options available in the United States and Canada, including Medication Assisted Treatment and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy involves individuals altering habits and recognizing their ability to live free from opioids. Medication assisted therapy includes methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone, each functioning as an opioid substitute to remove any euphoric high and oftentimes decreases withdrawal symptoms. Both therapies alone, and especially in tandem have demonstrated great results in achieving opioid use disorder recovery. I will look at particular people groups of prison populations and women in both countries, and African/Black Americans and Hispanics in the United States and Indigenous peoples in Canada. In each of the special populations, excluding women, rates of opioid use disorder are disproportionally high. And despite these alarming rates, treatment is often not optimal. Through research and comparisons, I will create recommendations to the United States on how to improve reaction to the Opioid Crisis. Recommendations can be summarized by a reallocation of already available funding to target education of the public to decrease stigma and to increase accessibility of treatments.