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Opioids Overdose Essay
Opioids Overdose Essay
Overdose by opioid use essay
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What is Fentanyl? The drug that killed Prince revealed
The opioid crisis currently plaguing the United States can now count one of the most iconic and best-selling musicians of all time as one of its victims.
Medical examiners confirmed that celebrated musician Prince died of an accidental fentanyl overdose at his Paisley Park home in Minnesota almost two years ago on April 21, 2016. The confirmation of his death from an opioid overdose is only the latest in a years-long crisis that’s gripped virtually every region of the United States.
Here’s all you need to know about what fentanyl is, where it comes from, what the response from the government has been, its prevalence in the United States, who Prince was and what his net worth was when he passed away.
What is fentanyl?
Fentanyl is an opioid often used as a pain medication or anesthetic when combined with other medications. Its effects usually last one to two hours after a
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What has the government’s response been?
The rise in fentanyl addiction, along with the broader opioid abuse crisis currently plaguing the United States, has posed a unique challenge for both medical professionals and law enforcement officials.
Payne has stated that the DEA’s mission is to destroy all illegal fentanyl production, saying that ‘there is no such thing as a safe amount of fentanyl.’
Other have taken a more nuanced approach to the crisis, believing that the best way to tackle it is to understand the underlying causes of addiction and address them adequately. Epidemiologist Michael Gilbert states that: ‘It could be that by playing whack-a-mole with drug policy we just create more moles. It could well be the best approach to reducing morbidity and mortality is not to crack down harder but to better understand why they are using it as their drug of
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
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.
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
five minutes, peaks at about 20 minutes, and takes 24 to 48 hours to come back
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 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).
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
Running head: THE ABUSE OF AND ADDICTION TO OPIOIDS The escalating public health crisis has led to urgent calls for action to end the devastation and despair of families across the United States affected by the opioid epidemic. Nevertheless, the Trump administration —falling short of bold action and failing the American people— declared the opioid crisis only a “public health emergency” and did not release additional funding to address it. Had he declared it a “national emergency,” as he promised to do in August, it would have led to the quick allocation of federal funds. A national emergency is a process that comes with specific legal authority and brings specific sets of powers and access to money, which would greatly help curb the deadly opioid epidemic.
One major issue that affects the US today is the use of illegal drugs. One of the fastest growing illegal drugs is methamphetamine. Methamphetamine, also known commonly as meth, is "the label given to a homemade substance that is manufactured (typically) in rural labs using fertilizers, cold tablets, and household acids" (Armstrong, 2007, p. 427). When it is manufactured, it is commonly seen as a powder or crystal that is white in color, has no distinguishable odor, and is pungent to the taste (McKinley & Fink III, 2006). There are several means by which meth can be consumed. This can include the product being smoked, inhaled, swallowed, or injected by needles (McKinley & Fink III, 2006 & O’Connor, Chriqui, & McBride, 2006).
As I’m sure you would agree, doctors have to stop over prescribing their patients with opioids. Although opioids are used as pain medication and are prescribed more to patients who are fresh out of surgery or have chronic pain, it can become highly addictive. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, about 11.5 million people have misused the opioids they were prescribed(Thompson). Their misuse can be due to the fact that their doctors are prescribing them a ridiculous amount of opioids, instead of just giving them regular ibuprofen. It doesn’t matter how well these drugs are working, what matters is how it’s affecting the patients who are given this deadly drug. Clearly doctors aren’t taking into consideration at all the
The current situation of drug control in the United States is imperfect and inadequate. Millions of men and women, both young and old, are affected by illicit drug use. It costs the United States about $6,123 every second because of drug use and its consequences (Office). Moreover, 90 percent of all adults with a substance use disorder started using under the age of 18 and half under the age of 15. Children who first smoke marijuana under the age of 14 are five times more likely to abuse drugs as adults than those who first use marijuana at age 18. Finally, the children of alcoholics are four times more likely to develop problems with alcohol (Prevent). Current legislation that has to do with the United States’ drug control policy is the Controlled Substances Act, which regulates the manufacture, importation, possession, use, and distribution of certain substances (Shannon). In 1966, Congress passed the Narcotic Addict Rehabilitation Act also known as the NARA. This legislati...
...ion and enormous government expenditure, is highly arguable. The civilization is incessantly changing, and we have to relook at the goals of the anti-drug provision and either it is having the preferred outcome. Some changes in the laws and policies appear essential so as to in fact eradicate the negative effects of drugs on our culture.
...such a hard disease to fight. That’s why it is important for family members or friends to stand by their loved ones if they are suffering from drug addiction. It may make all the difference in the end.
Wolf, M. (2011, June 4). We should declare an end to our disastrous war on drugs. Financial Times. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy.consortiumlibrary.org/docview/870200965?accountid=14473
Leaving drug traffickers uncontrolled is letting the price of abused drugs comes down so that everybody wants to try it. The legalization of current illicit drugs, including marijuana, is not a viable solution to the global drug problem and would actually exacerbate the problem(Drug-Free America Foundation,