A Poison of the Mind On the typical day, over 90 people will die at the hand of opioid abuse in America alone (National). In fact, as of 2014, nearly 2 million Americans were dependent and abusing opioids. The Opioid Crisis has affected America and its citizens in various ways, including health policy, health care, and the life in populous areas. Due to the mass dependence and mortality, the crisis has become an issue that must be resolved in all aspects. OPIOIDS AND THE BODY One of the reasons the epidemic has become so widespread is due to the addictiveness of opioids. Opioids are prescription medications used to treat pain, with oxycodone and hydrocodone being the more popular drugs (Mayo). Opioids are addictive because of the way …show more content…
In medical school/pharmacology school, medical professionals are taught to treat severe pain with opioids. However, opioids should be prescribed with the possibility of future dependency in mind. Physicians often struggle with whether they should prescribe opioids or seek alternative methodologies. This ethical impasse has led may medical professionals to prescribe opioids out of sympathy, without regard for the possibility of addiction (Clarke). As previously stated, a way to address this is use alternative methods so that physicians will become more acquainted to not not treating pain by means of opioid …show more content…
In previous years, the government has not made great efforts toward stopping opioid addiction (Global). With the vast amount of deaths, over 183,000 since 1999, and dependencies, it would be foolish for the government to not address this (Jones). In previous years, there have been efforts to try and address the Opioid Crisis, but they have hardly put a dent in the issue. For example, in 2016 the Obama administration passed a billion dollar bill to fix the issue, and it was fully funded. The results were more policies and restriction in hospitals, and did not address the issue of opioids on the streets. However, President Donald Trump and his administration plan on further addressing his issues through various approaches
The documentary states that over 27,000 deaths a year are due to overdose from heroin and other opioids. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2015 prescription pain relievers account for 20,101 overdose deaths, and 12,990 overdose deaths are related to heroin (Rudd et al., 2010-2015). The documentary’s investigation gives the history of how the heroin epidemic started, with a great focus on the hospice movement. We are presented with the idea that once someone is addicted to painkillers, the difficulty in obtaining the drug over a long period of time becomes too expensive and too difficult. This often leads people to use heroin. This idea is true as a 2014 survey found that 94% of respondents who were being treated for opioid addiction said they chose to use heroin because prescription opioids were “more expensive and harder to obtain (Cicero et al., 2014).” Four in five heroin users actually started out using prescription painkillers (Johns, 2013). This correlation between heroin and prescription painkiller use supports the idea presented in the documentary that “prescription opiates are heroin prep school.”
Through various accounts from people involved in every aspect of the opioid crisis, we are given a clear picture of how the opiate crisis began, and how we got to where we are now. Quinones does not place the blame on a single group of people,
Opioid addiction is a tragedy that affects countless of Americans on a daily basis. Almost everyone is acquainted to someone, who suffers from opioid addiction. Everyone, but specifically family and friends of the victims to opioid addiction need to understand why their loved ones are so susceptible to becoming addicted to opioids. The word opioid in itself is complex to define, but it entails a variety of prescription medications. Most opioids are used as pain management medications and qualify as CII medications also known as narcotics. They are supposed to be used on an “as needed” basis, but that is not the case for many users of opioids. Opioids cause great fear in the health community because they are easily addictive and
The opioid crisis is Canada’s worst public health crisis since the emergence of HIV in the 1980s. The epidemic is dangerously pervasive, affecting Canadians of all ages and income brackets. The Government of Canada has taken several steps to address the crisis, but many doctors and public health
According to CDC in the year 2015 opioids played a part in 33,091 deaths. Now you may ask what an opioid is. An Opioid is a compound that binds to opioid receptors in the body to reduce the amount of pain. There are four main categories of opioids, one being natural opioid analgesics including morphine and codeine, and semi synthetic opioid analgesics, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, and oxymorphone. The second category being methadone, a synthetic opioid, the third category being synthetic opioid analgesics other than methadone includes tramadol and fentanyl. The last category is an illicit opioid that is synthesized from morphine called heroin.
In the United States, opioid addiction rates have majorly increased . Between 2000-2015 more than half a million individuals have died from Opioid overdose, and nearly 5 million people have an opioid dependence which has become a serious problem. The Center for Disease control reports that there are 91 deaths daily due to opioid abuse. Taking opioids for long periods of time and in
Opioids are prescribed to help people; prescription opioids can be used to treat moderate-to-severe pain and are often prescribed following surgery or injury, or for health conditions such as cancer (Prescription Opioids). When taken as directed, opioids are safe and effective treatment options for relieving debilitating chronic pain (Highsmith). Doctors have screening protocol they follow before prescribing an opioid. Doctors ask patients about their past to see if any substance abuse was present, to rule out patients with a higher risk of becoming addicted to prescription opioids. Nonetheless, if the medication is used as directed, not only is your risk of addiction minimal, the odds of enjoying a better quality of life will be in your favor (Highsmith). In other words, doctors are doing their part to prevent prescription opioid drug abuse. Actually, dishonest people are the ones at
Every year, 2.6 million people in the United States suffer from opioid abuse and of that 2.6 million, 276,000 are adolescents, and this problem is only escalating. An individual’s physical and emotional health suffer as well as their personal lives as they lose employment, friends, family, and hope. Opioid addiction begins with the addictive aspects of the drug. People easily become hooked on the relieving effects of the opioids and suffer withdrawal symptoms if they stop using the drug completely because their nerve cells become accustomed to the drug and have difficulty functioning without it; yet the addiction to the drug is only one aspect to the complex problem. The stigma about opioid addiction has wide-reaching negative effects as it
In 2016 Americans are turning to heroin to deal with their despair, pain and turmoil in their lives, subsequently causing an opiate epidemic. This point is further evidenced by the following statement
Opioids are used as pain relievers and although it does the job, there are adverse side effects. Opioids are frequently used in the medical field, allowing doctors to overprescribe their patients. The substance can be very addicting to the dosage being prescribed to the patient. Doctors are commonly prescribing opioids for patients who have mild, moderate, and severe pain. As the pain becomes more severe for the patient, the doctor is more likely to increase the dosage. The increasing dosages of the narcotics become highly addicting. Opioids should not be prescribed as pain killers, due to their highly addictive chemical composition, the detrimental effects on opioid dependent patients, the body, and on future adolescents. Frequently doctors have become carless which causes an upsurge of opioids being overprescribed.
Opioid dependent individuals who are in inpatient treatment have a 60% chance of relapsing; another estimate suggests that less than 25% of addicts will remain abstinent post methadone maintenance therapy (Veilleux et al., 2010). Opioid addiction is not just harmful for the individual, but also causes a large financial burden on the nation. In 1996, the United States dispersed roughly $21.9 billion dollars across the nation due to heroin addiction expenditures (Mark et al., 2001). Treatments which are able to address comorbid issues that affect retention rate, longer-abstinence post-treatment completion, and decreased economic impact would be very beneficial on a national and global
The availability of opioids without a prescription or getting the medication from a friend or family member for free is one reason behind opioids addiction. It is important to know that some of them are illegal and have medical psychological effect and thus it is not safe to use them. One example is heroin which can change brain function make its user to perform unusual activities because of their effects of giving feelings of having different energy levels and more confidence. Consequently, taken in large quantity can result if feelings of anxiety and hallucinations and it can also result in death of the user. Authorities in health care system must constrain opioids availability and locate them to
Opioid use has risen substantially leading the nation into a state of emergency. More and more people are becoming addicted to opioids. Opioid addiction for most people begins with prescription pain medicine and escalates from there to heroin and other dangerous drugs. The demand for opioids is higher now than it has ever been (ASAM, 2016). Opioids have come into the homes of Americans all around the world.
From as early as the 1990s, there has been statistical data to show that the opioid addiction epidemic has seen its significant amount of overdose death rates, sales and substance abuse of these prescription pain relievers increased over time. Regarding an outstandingly high concentration of opioid use in areas such as Delaware, Washington D.C, New Jersey, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, the United States has currently approximately that now as many as 20.1 million Americans addicted to some type of opioid (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). Some of these most commonly prescribed opioid that is provided to some patients are Oxycodone, Vicodin and Percocet to effectively reduce chronic pain symptoms for either a short or long period
state epidemic and every day, more than 90 Americans die after overdosing on opioids. Drug