The Opioid Epidemic: A Theoretical Perspective Research Paper

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The Opioid Epidemic: A Theoretical Perspective
Today, Americans aged younger than 50 years are more likely to die from opioid than a car accident or HIV. Opioid overdose is a modern-day epidemic that already claimed over 40, 000 lives in 2016 alone (Felter par. 8). This essay takes sociological theory approach to explore why people engage in (illegal) opioid use. Anomie and social disorganization theories explain why consumption of opioids is rampant as an important step in combating its illegal consumption.
Anomie/strain theory holds that deviance arises because of the loss of social ties that act as a bond between individuals and society. In other words, anomie, as a condition, arises when the norms that underpin the good and the bad no longer evoke the same effect. Durkheim, held that destabilization in the society, weakening social ties among members of a society, and the resulting chaos were imputable to capitalist’s emphasis on individualism and organic solidarity (Inderbitzin, et al. 387). Strain is likely to creep in when economic and educational opportunities are unequally accessible to all. This theory provides a plausible ground for understanding opioid use.
As opioid use across the U.S. surges, anomie theory becomes increasingly relevant in examining the underpinnings of the scourge. In a country that emphasizes individuality like American, it is not surprising that many people are afflicted in silence as they are pushed by circumstances beyond their control into making poor decisions. The proliferation of technology has promoted networking among opiates through online communities that normalize drug use and make the substance accessible. It has also been noted that insurers motivate people to resort to opioid by denying them access to proper medication; cases abound of individuals who have had to use opioids as a pain reliever because insurers changed what they covered (Salam par. 12). The same case is observable in jails wherein many incarcerated addicts cease taking their medication. With insufficient interventions, poor rehabilitative interventions and ineffective authority oversight, opioid abuse has increased.
Social Disorganization Theory can help in understanding why people consume opioids. It focuses on macro-level dynamics, not individual characteristics, as a basis for understanding patterns in deviant behavior at the neighborhoods, schools, cities, or states level (Inderbitzin, et al. 529). An analysis of this theory reveals two ways through which disorganized neighborhoods provide viable brooding ground for deviant behavior: nonexistent or weak behavioral control mechanism, and int...