Introduction
Donna Murch’s article “How Race Made the Opioid Crisis” analyzes several historical and social aspects that caused the so-called opiate epidemic in the United States. The impact of racism on this crisis is a debatable topic that the author touches on. Without considering the racial issue, it is impossible to understand the principle of the formation of the system that led to the emergence of the drug epidemic.
Main Body
The strong argument of the essay is that the cause of the opioid crisis was, among other things, racial discrimination in the US. The author appeals to the history of drug policy, demonstrating its aspects used to criminalize and stigmatize communities of color. At the same time, the treatment of white drug users was much more lenient. According to March, this background has led to the fact that members of national minorities are more likely to be attacked by law enforcement agencies, and it is more difficult for them to receive treatment for addictions.
Another strength of the paper is the emphasis on the need to find a fair and comprehensive solution to the current situation. According to Murch, tackling the opioid crisis requires medical interventions and decisive action to address the underlying social and economic factors that have fueled the problem. To effectively implement such a strategy, reducing poverty, unemployment, health inequality, and other forms of social injustice is necessary.
A somewhat weaker aspect is the role of the pharmaceutical industry in the opioid crisis. The author argues that one of the causes of the drug addiction epidemic was aggressive marketing and overprescribing of opioids. The claim that drug companies target people of color as the primary target audience for legal opiates suffers from a lack of evidence.
Conclusion
This article raises the critical issue of the opiate epidemic and highlights the need for more just and decisive action to address this crisis. The paper details how inadequate drug policy leads to increased discrimination, which is one of the causes of the opiate epidemic. Murch’s essay contributes to the growing literature on drug policy. The information provided is of considerable value to politicians, medical professionals, and activists whose work is focused on combating the drug epidemic.