The national spike of opioid overdose led President Trump to declare a public health emergency. Now some 20 states including Virginia have filed a lawsuit against OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family for their role in promoting the crisis. However, in 2018, Pennsylvania had already declared a state of emergency seeking help from the federal government. A solution that the state had come up with was to open free clinics in which opioid would be administered to those who are addicted to the drug. This attempt to decrease rates of opioid overdose has received much backlash.

The arguments of both sides are clear and very distinct, yet a medium can be found in a book that came into existence 1400 years ago. The Qur’an and the religion of Islam, in general, promote forgiveness and reform in all cases, irrespective of the situation being dealt with. In this case, the clinics offer those who are addicted to opioids a safe environment, where they can be taken care of and prevent overdose by administering Naloxone, a drug that reverses an overdose. It seems that for the first time, the government is putting its people first. In order to fix the issue of overdose and drugs overall, reforming the people who are most affected by the issue is the first step to take.

Fazeela Wadan

Fairfax