Opioids Epidemic as a Homeland Security Issue

Opioids Epidemic as a Homeland Security Issue Name Institution Opioids Epidemic as a Homeland Security Issue There are an array of issues that relate to homeland security and defense. As revealed by White (2017), homeland security involves any planning, directing, and coordination activities that are aimed at protecting the mainland from those who wish to harm it. This means that any issue that threatens the well-being and prosperity of American citizens at a national level can qualify as a homeland security issue. In the recent past, the opioid crisis has become a homeland security issue due to the loss of life and negative consequences faced by Americans as a result of opioids penetrating the U.S. borders. The opioid crisis has countered the life expectancy progress that the country has enjoyed within a very short period (McBain, Rose, & LaRochelle, 2018). This is an indication that opioids are endangering the lives of Americans, thus calling for action from a homeland defense perspective. This paper analyzes the common opioids at the disposal of Americans, their sources, and the consequences on Americans while explaining why opioids are a national security issue. Common Opioids Opioid drugs have been used to manage pain in a medical capacity where medications such as morphine are used. However, the current opioid crisis is as a result of opioid use for non-medical reasons. These opioids are either illegal or legally available by prescription. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reveal that heroin is the most common opioid in America, followed by synthetic opioids. What has made the use of heroine plummet at such an alarming rate is the decrease in price which has increased accessibility to the drug. According to Felter (2019), the price of heroin has dropped to a third of the price in the 1990s. The availability of synthetic opioids such as fentanyl has also increased the consumption of opioids in the recent past. Fentanyl is far much cheaper than heroin, and its effects are much worse, which is why it has been labeled as “manufactured death” by law enforcement (Felter, 2019). The number of Americans exposed to the lethality of opioids is thus increasing every day. Sources of Opioids The fact that opioids are not obtained from local sources but, rather, from external sources beyond the U.S. borders is one of the reasons why it has become a homeland security issue. The Department of Homeland Security (2018) reveals that part of their plan in protecting the nation from the opioid epidemic involves working with local and foreign partners to cut-off the flow of illegal opioids before they get to the borders. Mostly, these illicit opioids are produced in Mexico and then transferred into the country where Mexican Cartels distribute them. Dismukes (2018) reveals that Mexico has the greatest influence on the opioid crisis in the U.S., mostly because of its geographical location where it shares a border with the U.S. and acts as a go-between opioid consuming and producing countries. The manufacture of fentanyl and the growth of opium in Mexico, coupled with an already established chain of cartels in the U.S. has made Mexico more dangerous to the U.S. than even the largest heroin producing country in the world. According ...