Heroin: The Epidemic Forcing a Top Campaign Issue

America’s addiction to opioids and heroin have reached epidemic levels. Right now, 78 people die per day from use and overdose of such drugs, forcing the conversation of governors and party leaders to address a strategy that involves treatment of addiction in conjunction with punishment for use and possession of illicit drugs.

The shift in focus as it pertains to treatment rather than solely punishment is something that politicians from the likes of Bernie Sanders to Mitch McConnell can get behind-further highlighting the fact that current solutions and implementations are not working. Read on to learn more about the growing epidemic, brainstormed strategies and example case studies, and what the 2016 presidential candidates are saying America can expect in the future.


Heroin Growth Across the U.S.

The United States represents 5 percent of the world’s population, yet utilizes 80 percent of its opioids, which are known to be the gateway to heroin use. The death toll, reported in 2014, had reached the staggering level of 47,055/year.

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During the Canada Post strike announced September 25, 2025, the following measures will be undertaken to minimize service disruption to BC-CfE clients and providers.

  • The BC-CfE Laboratory has transitioned to private courier for delivery of outgoing reports and documents. Results required urgently can be faxed upon request. (Lab Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8775; FAX 604-806-9463)
  • The BC-CfE Drug Treatment Program (DTP) will fax outgoing forms and documents to the provider’s office. (DTP Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8515; FAX 604-806-9044)
  • St. Paul’s Hospital Ambulatory Pharmacy has transitioned to private courier for delivery of medications. We recommend requesting medication at least 2 weeks in advance in case of delivery delays, particularly to rural/remote parts of BC. (Contact Information: Phone 1-800-547-3622; FAX 604-806-8675)

During the Canada Post strike, we recommend that documents be faxed or couriered to our sites, versus utilization of regular mail service

The BC-CfE Laboratory is streamlining reporting processes for certain tests in order to simplify distribution and record-keeping, and to ensure completeness of results. Beginning September 2, 2025, results for the ‘Resistance Analysis of HIV-1 Protease and Reverse Transcriptase’ (Protease-RT) and ‘HIV-1 Integrase Resistance Genotype’ tests will be combined into a single ‘HIV-1 Resistance Genotype Report’.
For more details and example reports, please click on the button below