Opioid use and overdose deaths are soaring during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the construction industry in the U.S. has been particularly hard hit. Construction workers are prone to serious physical injuries, and often get hooked on strong prescription painkillers as well as street drugs such as heroin. While precise number of overdose fatalities in the industry isn’t known, construction workers are roughly 6 times more likely than workers in other manufacturing industries to become addicted to opioids. In Massachusetts, the construction industry employs almost 145,000 people and an estimated 25 percent of all opioid overdose deaths between 2011 and 2014. Unions and industry associations are stepping up efforts to tackle the problem with education and prevention programs.
Meanwhile, a new report from Pew Trusts underscores the effectiveness of using FDA-approved drugs to treat substance use—but points out that such drugs are often unavailable. The drugs—including methadone and buprenorphine— help people manage withdrawal symptoms, reduce illicit opioid use, and stay in treatment, as part of a behavioral health program. Yet despite these proven benefits, many people are not able to access such treatment, as nearly 44 percent of substance use treatment facilities do not offer any medication to treat opioid use disorder. Ensuring comprehensive coverage of all services and awareness of how such medications work are all integral factors in curbing the opioid epidemic, the report concludes.
And finally, data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration show that marijuana was the second most common substance involved in substance-related Emergency Department visits, with 22 percent. Young people are especially at risk, with patients aged 18 to 25 accounting for 27 percent of marijuana-related visits, the second largest proportion of these visits.