Opiate Detox Needed with Huge Jump in Overdose Deaths of African Americans
Opiate Detox Services are needed as the United States experiences a considerable jump in overdose deaths of African Americans. According to a recent study published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, African Americans saw the sharpest increase in drug mortality rates of any demographic group in 2020. Given such an increase, the opiate detox services at Tarzana Treatment Centers (TTC) are in great demand. Indeed, opiate detox services and medications for addiction treatment save lives.
Celebrating our fiftieth anniversary of providing substance use disorder (SUD) recovery services, TTC focuses on helping under-served communities. However, there is a high degree of resistance to treatment services within the African American community. Hence, opiate detox services are not at the front of a family’s agenda when facing an opioid use disorder issue. Such resistance needs to be overcome to save lives and promote sustainable recovery.
Moreover, such results are part of the new study. The peer-reviewed study compiled data from the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) reporting guideline. It also includes additional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Center for Health Statistics.
Opiate Detox and African American Men
Without question, African American men are the subject of the biggest jump in drug overdoses. Indeed, African American men experienced more than 15,200 drug overdose deaths in 2020, more than doubling in 2016. Thus, mortality rates from drug overdoses among men in every other major racial or ethnic group rose slower.
Dr. Helen Hansen, a professor of psychiatry at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine and the co-author of the study, details the systemic racial and socioeconomic inequalities and policies that fuel this crisis.
Speaking to Yahoo News, Dr. Hansen explains, “For the past 20 years, what the media has focused on is the very high death rate among white Americans. And there has been a certain shock and surprise because of all of the stereotypes about the racial identity of people who are addicted in this country. What Joe Friedman uncovered was, not only is it and has it not been a white crisis all along, but starting in 2017 and then sharply accelerating in 2020, the Black overdose death rate really shot up.”
Opiate Detox and Medications for Addiction Treatment
Incredibly, African Americans as a racial segment had the second-highest overdose death rate in 2020. American Indian or Alaskan Natives had the highest rate of overdose deaths, at 41.4 deaths per 100,000. Given such startling high rates, opiate detox and medications for addiction treatment (MAT services) are the answer. Despite resistance, the key is to access the latest recovery innovations to save lives.
If you or a loved one needs treatment for opioid use disorder, there is help available. Therefore, please do not hesitate to contact TTC today and access treatment support.