America’s Drug Crisis

    Luke Leitwein loved his brother, Travis. Travis was 17 years older. He would visit Luke and his mom. He was Luke’s hero. He could do backflips. He would play basketball with Luke. When Travis was leaving, he would give Luke a big hug.

    Sometimes, Luke wondered if something was wrong with Travis. He wouldn’t visit for a few months. Then he would show up. His mom would hide all the medicine. This happened over and over. Once, Travis asked Luke for $20. “I didn’t know why,” says Luke, who is now 12.

    Later, Luke found out why. It was just before Christmas of 2017. His mom told him that Travis had a drug addiction. That $20 he had asked for? It had been for drugs. “She showed me pictures of Travis holding me when I was a baby,” Luke remembers. “Then she said I wouldn’t see him until I went to heaven.” 

    Travis had died of an overdose. He died on December 20, 2017.

    Luke Leitwein treasured the times when his brother, Travis, visited. Travis, who was 17 years older, was Luke’s hero. He could do backflips on the trampoline, and he’d play basketball with Luke in the yard. Before leaving, Travis would embrace Luke in a big bear hug.

    Luke, who is 12, sometimes wondered if something was wrong with his brother. Travis wouldn’t visit for months at a time—and when he did come over, his mom would hide all the medicine in the house. Once, Travis asked Luke for $20. “I didn’t know why,” Luke recalls.

    Then just before Christmas of 2017, Luke found out the reason. His mom came into his room at their house in Ohio. She told Luke that Travis had been struggling with drug addiction for nearly 10 years. That money he had asked for? It had been for drugs. “She showed me pictures of Travis holding me when I was a baby,” Luke remembers. “Then she said I wouldn’t see him until I went to heaven.” 

    On December 20, 2017, Travis had died of an overdose.

    Travis was addicted to opioids [OH-pee-oydz]. That’s a group of drugs. In the past 20 years, opioid use has soared. Vicodin is an opioid. So are OxyContin, heroin, and fentanyl. These drugs can be deadly. In 2018, about 130 Americans died from opioid overdoses each day.

    In the 1990s, drug companies wanted doctors to use new opioid drugs. So doctors gave patients these drugs to treat pain. The drugmakers insisted these drugs were safe. 

    Today, we know they were wrong. Studies show that 1 in 10 people who start using opioids have trouble stopping. People see a doctor for a knee injury. Or they have surgery. They come home with OxyContin for the pain. They get hooked. But they run out of the pills. Then they try to buy them illegally. 

    Some people move on to heroin. It’s cheaper. It’s also more dangerous. That’s what happened with Travis. “The pain pills were $30 a pill, and he needed three a day,” says Luke’s mom. “He couldn’t afford it. So he tried heroin.”

    Travis was addicted to opioids [OH-pee-oydz], a class of deadly drugs that includes Vicodin, OxyContin, heroin, and fentanyl. His story is not uncommon. Opioid use has soared in the past two decades, and overdoses killed about 130 Americans a day in 2018.

    For many people, the doctor’s office is where their addiction begins. In the 1990s, drug companies encouraged doctors to prescribe new opioid drugs to treat pain. As a result, doctors gave patients pills like OxyContin, Vicodin, and Percocet. The drugmakers insisted these medicines were safe. 

    Today, we know the opposite is true. Studies show that 10 percent of people who start using opioids have difficulty stopping. Teen athletes go to the doctor with knee injuries. Adults go to the hospital for surgery. They return home with OxyContin or another painkiller—and get hooked. When they run out of the pills, they attempt to buy them illegally. 

    People who become addicted often end up turning to cheaper, more dangerous drugs like heroin. Luke’s mom saw Travis experience this downward spiral. “The pain pills were $30 a pill, and he needed three a day,” she explains. “He couldn’t afford it, so he tried heroin.”