Perscription Medine: Fentanyl
Firefighters are required to carry anticoagulants just like a police required to carry a gun now more than ever. Fentanyl is replacing morphine because fentanyl is an opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, there is an increasing number of overdoses and deaths of people that are using the drug illicitly by producing inexpensive fentanyl mixed with illegal drugs like heroine and fentanyls. In the industry of medicine, the sudden arrival of counterfeit prescription drugs containing fentanyls results in an increase in overdoses, deaths, opiate-dependent individuals, and profit to potential traffickers that exploit high consumer demand for prescription medications. The use of fentanyl as a substitute
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Paul Janssen developed Sublimaze. It is as an anesthetic prescription medicine. First made in 1959, Sublimaze, now known as fentanyl, is frequently used to provide palliative care for individuals with cancer. As a nonpolar opioid, fentanyl rapidly crosses the blood-brain barrier, a brain membrane, and releases dopamine. Other opioids that are polar – the intensity of a substance dissolving, have a longer period of time spent traveling through the blood-brain barrier causing the opioid to have diminutive effects in releasing dopamine than fentanyl. This makes fentanyl about 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin. The misuse of this opioid leads to its pharmacological effects and produces analgesia, vomiting, respiratory depression, and nausea. The side effect is similar to other opioid receptors (like morphine or …show more content…
According to The Division Control department currently, fentanyl crisis is fueled by China-sourced fentanyls and fentanyl precursor chemicals that are being sold to various individuals and organizations responsible for fentanyl processing and distribution operations. Also the Enforcement Administration: Office of Diversion Control reported in May 2015 - Chinese Customs officials seized 46 kilograms of fentanyl and 26 kilograms of acetyl fentanyl hidden in a cargo container destined for Mexico. These drugs are then distributed in states. In 2016, DEA Miami Field Division reports a kilogram of acetyl fentanyl purchased in Florida for $1700, sourced from China (DEA). There are no laws in China regulating the production or sale of prescription medicine, making them easily accessible to potential drug traffickers. China then exports the fentanyl to Mexico, and from there its distributed throughout the country into the United States. In 2006, illegally manufactured, non-pharmaceutical fentanyl often mixed with cocaine or heroin caused an outbreak of overdose deaths in the United States and Canada, heavily concentrated in the cities of Dayton, Ohio; Chicago; Detroit. Analgesics through the state of crystal powder has been killing dozens of people.
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.
1Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opiate analgesic, which has a primary function in managing malignant and non-malignant contractible pain, similar to morphine however it is more potent. This is because fentanyl has an octanol-water partition of 9550 compared to morphine, which has 6. This effectively demonstrates that fentanyl is highly lipid soluble, crossing the blood brain barrier more rapidly. Hence it has a quicker reaction time but at a shorter duration compared to morphine. It is commonly used to treat patients with severe pain or patients experiencing pain after a surgery. Fentanyl can also be used to treat patients with chronic pain that are physically tolerant to opiates. Patients who are not physically tolerant to opiates should avoid the use of fentanyl as this can cause undesirable side effects, which can in some cases be toxic. Fentanyl is registered as a class II prescription drug, meaning that it has a greater potential for being abused, which could have negative implications on a patient’s health as it can result in psychological or physical dependence.1
About 435,000 Americans regularly use heroin, a large increase in the last decade. 28,000 deaths a year are attributed to opiate overdoses, 2,590 of which occur in Ohio. This causes an increase of children in government custody, law enforcement officers carrying naloxone, and overflow in treatment centers. Drug traffickers choose Ohio to avoid violence involved with drug trade in large cities. Clinics over-prescribed very addictive painkillers, but once law enforcement cracked down they became very expensive, giving the cheap drug heroin an advantage. Adam Conkey was prescribed with pain pills twenty years ago, which started him on the road to heroin. Conkey and his girlfriend, Natasha
This is being done in hopes to decrease the number of overdose deaths that are occurring in West Virginia. The law does have restrictions. Those who buy naloxone OTC must be trained by a pharmacist on how to recognize an overdose, when to administer the antidote, and how to properly inject or inhale the drug. Pharmacies must also provide educational material telling customers how and where to access treatment programs (Brown, A., Para. 1, 2016). West Virginia being the number one state in overdose deaths, I personally believe that it is a good decision to pass this law. However, I think people should be trained properly on how to administer, when to administer, what to do, what signs to look for and how to respond. Narcan is a life savior and it should be readily available over the counter. Just because they have addiction or uses drug, they don’t deserve to die. If there is already a drug to save someone’s lives, why not use it. It is ridiculous how expensive the drug cost compared to other countries. Lower class and middle class people cannot afford to buy a drug for 500 to 600 dollars. I think it is a control by the big drug industries to make more money but being greedy is just hurting everyone. If country like Australia and Canada can sell cheap as a dollar, how come it costs 500-600 dollars in USA. People have stereotype belief that only druggies gets overdosed. However, it is not true. Older people who sometimes forget what medicines they took, light weight people who had never taken any drugs when started on pain medicines because of accidents or even though if it is overdose by someone trying to get high, saving life is a miracle. With the scientific achievement, people can make clone, skin graft, synthetic valves or many ways to save or repair human body, but no one can bring a soul back to a dead body. Many people doesn’t get overdosed to kill
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.”
Almost one hundred years ago, prescription drugs like morphine were available at almost any general store. Women carried bottles of very addictive potent opiate based pain killers in their purse. Many individuals like Edgar Allen Poe died from such addictions. Since that time through various federal, state and local laws, drugs like morphine are now prescription drugs; however, this has not stopped the addiction to opiate based pain killers. Today’s society combats an ever increasing number of very deadly addictive drugs from designer drugs to narcotics to the less potent but equally destructive alcohol and marijuana. With all of these new and old drugs going in and out of vogue with addicts, it appears that the increase of misuse and abuse is founded greater in the prescription opiate based painkillers.
In 1906, the Pure Food and Drug Act, that was years in the making was finally passed under President Roosevelt. This law reflected a sea change in medicine-- an unprecedented wave of regulations. No longer could drug companies have a secret formula and hide potentially toxic substances such as heroin under their patent. The law required drug companies to specify the ingredients of medications on the label. It also regulated the purity and dosage of substances. Not by mere coincidence was the law passed only about five years after Bayer, a German based drug company began selling the morphine derivative, heroin. Thought to be a safe, non-habit forming alternative to morphine, heroin quickly became the “cure-all drug” that was used to treat anything from coughs to restlessness. Yet, just as quickly as it became a household staple, many began to question the innocence of the substance. While the 1906 law had inherent weaknesses, it signaled the beginning of the end for “cure-all” drugs, such as opiate-filled “soothing syrups” that were used for infants. By tracing and evaluating various reports by doctors and investigative journalists on the medical use of heroin, it is clear that the desire for this legislative measure developed from an offshoot in the medical community-- a transformation that took doctors out from behind the curtain, and brought the public into a new era of awareness.
The Beginnings of The Problem Opium has first arrived in London as a new medicinal trade product. It is new, compact, easily transported, and non-perishable. Trade with China proved very profitable and flourished for more than twenty years uninterrupted, until in 1835 China passed its first laws prohibiting the importation of opium (1). In the years following this prohibition, England responded simply by shifting the drop off points to other ports in China. China resisted these efforts, by England, to continue trade and began attacking their ships.
Heroin is one of the most dangerous drugs in the world. When using heroin, people run the risk of developing serious “infectious diseases” such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis (The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), 2014, para 10). Above all, heroin use often results in death. The DEA Strategic Intelligence Section (2016), who prepared the 2016 National Heroin Threat Assessment Summary claims that heroin is the most fatal drug compared to other drugs because heroin related deaths occur at a much higher rate. In 2014 cocaine users outnumbered heroin users by about three and a half to one, yet there were twice as many heroin related deaths compared to that of cocaine (p. 9). One of the main causes of the large amount of death is a result of what dealers are lacing their heroin with. Fentanyl, a drug that is considered “50” to “100” times stronger than morphine (NIDA, 2016, para 1), is being used by dealers to mix in with their heroin in order to increase its effects and the quantity of their product. Because of how strong fentanyl-laced heroin is, the possibility of overdosing rises, which is the effect that numerous addicts seek out to attain. In the article “Spiked”, written by Maggie Lee (2015), Lieutenant Rick Mason from the Atlanta Police Department emphasizes, “… if somebody OD’s, that’s who [heroin addicts] want to buy their heroin from because it’s the strongest and it must be the best” (para 22). Heroin addicts chase the powerful batches, often asking around for the dealer selling the batch that is causing mass overdoses. Their high tolerance for heroin lead them to believe that they will not fall victim to a deadly overdose until it is too late. When these users consume what they think is their normal dose, the fentanyl kills them. Those unable to receive prescription medication from a doctor will argue that heroin is a cheap way to relieve pain. While heroin may help to
Crack is the name given to cocaine that has been transformed into a condensed, more pure, rock form that can be smoked. It is the most addictive form of cocaine due to a higher potency level than the typical batch of street cocaine. Crack cocaine has often been referred to as a ‘soul drug’ because it has a tendency to rob its victims of everything including money, family, morals, and even life itself. Furthermore, it is possible to become addicted to crack cocaine from the very first time it is used, creating a vortex of misery for those who come into contact with it. Compared to other drugs, crack cocaine has a rather short history in America since it was only introduced the 1980’s. However, within this short period, Crack cocaine
. “The illegal drug market in the United States is one of the most profitable in the world. As such, it attracts the most ruthless, sophisticated, and aggressive drug traffickers.” Throughout the years drug trafficking has been a major issue in America. These issues have impacted our economy, security, which promote new laws and policies throughout the U.S. and among our boarders. Drug Trafficking has created conflict with other countries such as Mexico. “…criminal groups operating from neighboring Mexico smuggle cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, amphetamine, and marijuana into the United States. These criminal groups have smuggled heroin and marijuana across the Southwest Border and distributed them throughout the United States since the 1970s.” (Policy Almanac).
Heroin was synthesized from morphine in 1874 by an English chemist, but was not made commercially until 1898 by the Bayer Pharmaceutical Company. Attempts were proposed to use heroin in place of morphine due to problems of morphine abuse. However, it turned out that heroin was also highly addictive, and was eventually classified as an illegal drug in the United States. Today, heroin in the United States comes mostly from Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia, Latin America, Mexico, and the Middle East. It is generally sold in a white or brownish powder form or as a black sticky substance known as “black tar” heroin. Heroin found on the streets is usually mixed with other drugs or substances such as sugar, starch, powdered milk, talc, baking...
By the year 2000 opioid medicine containing oxycodone etc., are being abused and misused and more than doubled in 10 years’ time.
Substance addiction is becoming an epidemic. While some people can quit using a substance without any help, most people need help to their recovery. Narcotics anonymous is an important support group for our society. There are many different narcotic anonymous programs to join that have meetings throughout the week. The members of the support group all share one thing in common, they suffer from different types of chemical dependency. Members help each other because they have the same problems and worries that everyone in the room has. Though they may be struggling with different stages in their life, for the most part, they all relate to what each is going through. Just as AA, NA focuses on the 12-step program. The members of
In Saint Louis especially, there is an ongoing epidemic of drug use, especially with heroin. In the recent years, the usage and overdose rates of heroin and other opiates have unfortunately skyrocketed Jim Shroba, a special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in St. Louis has noticed a direct increase of heroin users over the recent years. He says after Mexican cartels planted their own opium poppy fields and producing more of their own heroin instead of just transporting the Colombian