Three out of every four farmers and farmworkers report a direct impact by the opioid epidemic on their lives.
According to a poll by American Farm Bureau Federation and National Farmers Union, 74 percent of rural communities have seen an impact either directly on their lives or on someone they know. The two groups have created a website to get people in the farming and ranching communities help for drug addiction. It's called FarmTownStrong.org.
"The larger problem is we have hard working farmers and farmworkers who get injured," said Will Rodger, Director of Policy Communications for AFBF. "They have acute pain that needs some kind of relief. Often times that short term acute pain turns into chronic pain. It stretches out over time and once people get started on opioids it's exceedingly hard to get off of them."
The website claims three out of four farmers say they have easy access to drugs, either legally or illegally.
"From what we can see, we see similar numbers in terms of addiction both in urban and rural America and suburban America. The numbers vary a little bit. But, it's a massive problem that's everywhere," said Rodger.
The website has links to help people who find themselves in addiction. Though, according to Rodger, often times, someone who is addicted to pain killers may not be aware of the issue.
"Nobody wants to be addicted to drugs," he said. "But these guys especially, it's just a very hard thing for them to face."
