Opioid Use And Deaths Are NOT The Biggest Piece of the Drug Problem – Alcohol Is

Opioid Use And Deaths Are NOT The Biggest Piece of the Drug Problem – Alcohol Is By Randolph Jason for The Recovered Word

With all the endless articles, news stories and events to bring awareness to the community regarding opioid use and deaths one would think it is the biggest piece of the drug problem our nation, and, in fact, our world faces today. Not to make light of the opioid problem, because it is massive, unfortunately, there is another drug problem that has been around far longer, runs much deeper and causes far more problems than is discussed. The biggest drug problem our society faces is alcohol, alcohol use and alcohol abuse with all the related illnesses, medical issues and deaths.

The past several years we have seen the recovery industry truly explode in this country. With funding coming from a variety of sources including taxpayers (government), faith based organizations and concerned citizens alike all are playing an increasing role in what is happening in our communities. The loss of life is staggering. The loss is painful and, some of it, preventable. People are hurting in so many ways today that it has reached a crossroads of outcry, seeking and, quiet frankly, blind eyes and deaf ears all converging in one giant wave of people losing their lives to drugs and alcohol. In a way it almost feels as if we have become numb to what is happening all around us. It almost feels as if people no longer care about their neighbor, their co-workers or church members as the number of people dying continues to climb to greater heights.

The year 2021, as we have reported endlessly, was a terrible year for opioid addiction. We lost more than 107,000 people, mostly young people (under 35/yo), to this horrible situation. Families destroyed while the drug makers played their part in taking massive profits as our children, parents and grandparents all suffered and died from addiction.

Also in 2021 alcohol poisoning, which has gone mostly under-reported or completely ignored in the media, including so-called alternative media, we lost more than 178,000 people. Yes, you read that number correctly. Opioid addiction has been the main focus of recovery and prevention awareness information while alcoholism has been just about completely shut out of the conversation. All the while the number of people dying from alcohol is exploding. Why the blind eyes and deaf ears?

This situation is not being discussed in any forum that I am aware. 178,000 is substantial more than that of opioid deaths and not a word about it. Why is that? Once you break down that number and look at it strictly from a numbers point of view, you see something very cold, very callous and it speaks volume as to the lack of compassion of this once proud nation. It seems that we lost our way somewhere along the line. It seems we have also turned a blind eye to what is happening at the liquor store on the corner or just down the street. The next time you pass the person on the corner asking you for a help, see them. When that person disappears you may want to ask yourself “what happened?”. It could be that he or she just became another soul lost to the spoils of alcohol poisoning.

We will continue this line of thought in the days ahead. If anyone is struggling and needs to talk please send us an email Info@GospelNewsNetwork.org and we can swap phone numbers and begin a true dialogue. God bless.