Final answer:
The #1 drug problem in America is the opioid epidemic, a crisis characterized by widespread addiction and a dramatic increase in overdose deaths. This situation arose from the marketing of opioids as non-addictive pain medications, leading to a rise in prescriptions and subsequent misuse, as well as a transition to heroin and synthetic opioids when prescription medication became scarce.
Step-by-step explanation:
The opioid epidemic is considered the #1 drug problem in America by almost any standard. This crisis, which began in the 1990s, has been the worst drug crisis in American history due to the dramatic increase in opioid addiction and overdose deaths. Factors contributing to this epidemic include the rise in prescriptions for opioid painkillers, the spread of heroin by Mexican drug cartels, the reformulation of Oxycodone, and the aggressive policing of pill mills.
Opioid addiction transcends all demographic groups, with millions affected across various ethnic, age, gender, and socioeconomic categories. The opioid crisis escalated particularly due to pharmaceutical companies aggressively marketing opioid-based medications as non-addictive pain relievers. This led to a three-fold increase in opioid prescriptions from 76 million in 1991 to 219 million in 2011, which combined with the availability of heroin, contributed to a significant rise in misuse and addiction rates.
Subsequently, with increased oversight and scarcity of prescription opioids, those addicted turned to cheaper, yet more deadly alternatives like heroin and synthetic opioids such as Fentanyl, contributed by the international production from crime syndicates. As a result, opioid-related overdose deaths have dramatically increased, highlighting a situation where the need for comprehensive intervention and action remains paramount to combat this ongoing crisis.