|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The concept of preying upon something or someone has a connotation portraying wildlife and the food chain said life depends upon. However, there are a significant number of examples of this same concept that can be found scattered throughout society and the corporate world.
Consider, for example, an employee sabotaging a colleague’s work and, when the colleague is fired, taking over the vacant position. A student who didn’t study correctly answering a question in class based on a conversation with a classmate; or a child breaking a valuable antique and blames their sibling, who is punished.
Simply put, the act of preying upon someone or something means taking advantage of weaknesses, faults, mistakes, or situations in order to further support one’s own endeavors.
Cases of this can, sadly, be found in medical environments as well. More specifically, California’s opioid crisis has origins dating back to the late 1990s, according to State of CaliforniaCA.gov.
Opioids, or narcotics, are, “medications prescribed by doctors to treat persistent or severe pain,” says the American Society of Anesthesiologists. Examples of when opioids would be prescribed include post-operative and acute pain, chronic and cancer-related pain, or during end-of-life care.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Protection (CDC), in 2023, there were 37.5 prescriptions of medicines containing opioids per 100 people. There is no exact data for 2024 or 2025, but to put this into perspective, the United States had a population of about 342 million as of Jan. 1, 2025, stated by Census.gov.
Using the statistics from 2023, this would mean over 128 million people have been told to use opioids. These drugs are highly addictive because they block the nerve endings in the human body that tell the brain to feel pain and trigger a release of dopamine as well. This information was gathered from the American Society of Anesthesiologists and the National Library of Medicine.
If opioids are so harmful to the human body, why are they so commonly suggested as remedies?
During the 20th century, this made sense as technology wasn’t too advanced. However, with the progress society has made with Artificial Intelligence (AI), there is not a need for opioids any longer. AI has already been used to further progress in dermatology and quicken patient prognosis, with this information provided the National Library of Medicine.
Yet somehow, we have not sent AI to find a safer alternative to opioids. Instead, those who have become addicted are being blamed for “not having a greater sense of self control”, even though addiction is not something a single person can control.
Society should be standing by people affected by opioids instead of telling them they should be able to handle it themselves.
Another topic for discussion would be why opioids are so readily available in the first place. It is public knowledge that repeated use of opioids have a negative impact on the human body, yet somehow, codeine, a type of weaker opioid, is sold over the counter, says the National Library of Medicine.
Just because it is not as potent in small doses does not mean it can do no harm in large quantities. Not to mention, drugs of all kinds are being sold globally by unregulated third parties.
In the United States, there are a substantial number of companies who produce opioids, such as Purdue Pharma, Johnson and Johnson, and Teva Pharmaceuticals, this being illuminated by the Texas Attorney General. It is the responsibility of these companies who produce opioids to manage their own product.
Our society revolves around money, thus the expression “money makes the world go round”. That is why opioids are not as regulated as they should be. Contracts are formed to stay ahead of competitors. While not directly paid, physicians can receive benefits, such as gifts, for prescribing a drug. Third parties have “fences” who, when combined, can purchase drugs and sell them quickly for profit.
These companies, these doctors who are receiving benefits, these third parties, are all exploiting a portion of society that does not deserve to be treated in such ways. They are all preying on a portion of society who should solely have to focus on getting better and thriving, rather than protecting themselves from getting tricked.
Opioids and the addiction that come with them are a disgusting side of our economy that has persisted for far too long, one that traps people in a downhill tumble of getting prescribed opioids, spending money on them, constant use of these drugs, getting addicted, and spending more money to fund that addiction.
We’ve seen first hand how opioid addiction impacts the bay area. According to the Research Recovery Institute, the National Library of Medicine, and Project Courage, we’ve faced constant overdoses that overwhelm emergency rooms, homeless individuals spending money on opioids rather than their own health, and countless deaths that break families apart.
It’s devastating.
I implore you. Stand up. Speak out. Fight against these wrong doings. Do not support the companies who are willing to produce unregulated, harmful products. Ask your doctor for reasoning when they prescribe you a product containing opioids, and if possible, deny it. Say something if you see a potential drug transaction going on.
This is an issue that has gone on for far too long. No longer can we stay impartial to the injustices happening in our cities. However, this war is too large for one soldier to fight on their own. Society has to stand united against the opioid epidemic and the companies who created it as a source of income. That is the only way we can face it, and that is the only way we can beat it.
This article was written as part of a program to educate youth and others about Alameda County’s opioid crisis, prevention and treatment options. The program is funded by the Alameda County Behavioral Health Department and the grant is administered by Three Valleys Community Foundation.
Trumark acquires Washington-based homebuilder JK Monarch; debuts new Livermore projectMarch 31, 2026 8:51 am
Downtown Livermore restaurant up for sale months after reopening from fire damageMarch 27, 2026 5:26 pm