What’s Working to solve this problem? The opioid crisis includes a web of relationships and difficulties. However, some communities have created programs that strengthen the individual and the community. Reducing access Communities like New Hanover County realized that having a convenient and free place to drop off unused medication makes it much more likely that unused drugs do not get into the wrong hands. New Hanover County has two locked drop off points provided by the county. However, other lock boxes can be found in local pharmacies. This reduces access without a large cost. Better Communication Using a prescription drug monitoring program helps cut down on “doctor shopping” and helps prevent accidental overdoses when mixing medications. Doctors and pharmacists who communicate during patient care and look for alternatives to opioids also make an impact on addiction before it starts. New Hanover County has created spaces to discuss this issue with multiple stakeholders in the community. There have been several gatherings where stakeholders have been able to share best practices, exchange ideas, and encourage innovation. Better pain management Medical professionals have been working to find new …show more content…
techniques to help manage pain. Ibuprophen and Tylenol treat pain well and have no chance of creating addiction. Therefore, doctors have been prescribing less dangerous drugs for pain. Alternative therapies like acupuncture, massage therapy, and chiropractic also provide pain relief without the danger of overdose or addiction. rehabilitation rather than punishment In some areas, the police have become the front line for social work. Instead of arresting someone because they are homeless or strung out on heroin, they connect them to services like a homeless shelter or drug rehabilitation. Jails can have a revolving door on them for serial drug abusers. Helping people find services can help take the door off revolve and shut it permanently. Jurisdictions now equip drug courts with more flexibility and resources in order to create a court which is rehabilitative rather than simply punitive. Research has shown that “this approach reduces recidivism, encourages compliance with treatment, and supports families of drug court participants.” Because fewer people are sitting in jail, the jail has space for more dangerous criminals. People who can go to treatment and work instead of prison can be productive members of society and earn a living. Children do not have to go into foster care if a parent is working towards getting better. This approach saves money and keeps families intact. Conclusion As the opioid crisis has mushroomed, local, state, and federal leaders have struggled with how to address the issue.
When communities like New Hanover County get government leaders, civic leaders, the DA, police officers, and former addicts in a room, synergy happens and ideas take shape. The county has started creating solutions to the sticky wicked problem of opioid addiction that address the issue at multiple levels and from different avenues. As a result, the area will lose its moniker as the town with the highest rate of opioid addiction and abuse. Instead, a Google search will find the county perched at the top of a “best places to live” list. That will happen because people collaborate, communicate, and attack opioid addiction before the problem
starts.
The documentary Heroin Cape Cod, USA focused on the widespread abuse of pain medication such as Vicodin, Percocet, and Oxycodone that has led the U.S. into the rise of an opiate addiction. Many of the users within the video explained that it doesn’t matter where you go, there is no stopping, and you can’t just get high once. Instead, those who do it want that high forever. I think that this is a very important concept that those who aren’t addicted to drugs need to understand, no matter how hard it is to. The documentary featured many addicts including Marissa who first popped pills when she was 14 years old, Daniel who stated he started by snorting pixie sticks, and Arianna who started smoking weed and drinking before age 12. Additionally, the documentary interviewed Ryan and Cassie. These addicts explained that in Cape Cod you either work and you’re normal, or you do drugs.
In my proposal to end the opioid crisis I used ethos, logos, and pathos. In the first paragraph, I used pathos by getting the reader to think back on any loved one that they had seen effect by opioids and describing those effected by opioids with words like lonely, beggars, shells. In the second paragraph, I used ethos and gave myself credibility by explaining how I had spent 17 years studying and having peers review my work. Along with ethos and pathos, I used logos in the second and third paragraph; I mentioned my years of peer-reviewed work to support cannabis as a replacement drug. In all, I used all three persuasive devices to introduce a clear problem and an absurd
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.
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
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.
Alexander explains that in Canada there has been three major waves of drug intervention, the ‘“harm reduction’ techniques” (225) being the most resent consisted of: clean injectable heroin, clean needles, methadone, and housing. Although, each of the methods are devoted and knowledgeable they have done little to decreased the deaths or supress the unhappiness. While clean heroin did work well few addicts quit using and many found the conditions of reserving the drugs to be repulsive. Yet another method is legalization which is nothing new and will do little to help.
This leads to the second school of thought on medically assisted treatment. There has been a great deal of debate about the medication used to treat Opiate addiction, methadone. Many feel that the drug methadone is simply trading one drug in for another, as the addiction to methadone is quick and almost more powerful than an opiate addiction (Nelson, 1994). The withdrawals effects are far more intense with methadone and for this reason it is a lifetime maintenance medication. Some suggest that more rehabilitative programs are needed that would address the social problems the users have to help them recover, instead of the methadone program that is viewed...
...Canadians health, and the availability of clinics. It is not the best answer to this question. How can one answer this question? Through resources. Opening clinics, opening detox centers, but through help, not donations. Doris Slipperjack has changed the way her community sees addiction, by looking past the drugs, and to the mentality behind it and the drive to take opiates.
The rate of death due to prescription drug abuse in the U.S. has escalated 313 percent over the past decade. According to the Congressional Quarterly Transcription’s article "Rep. Joe Pitt Holds a Hearing on Prescription Drug Abuse," opioid prescription drugs were involved in 16,650 overdose-caused deaths in 2010, accounting for more deaths than from overdoses of heroin and cocaine. Prescribed drugs or painkillers sometimes "condemn a patient to lifelong addiction," according to Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This problem not only affects the lives of those who overdose but it affects the communities as well due to the convenience of being able to find these items in drug stores and such. Not to mention the fact that the doctors who prescribe these opioids often tend to misuse them as well. Abusing these prescribed drugs can “destroy dreams and abort great destinies," and end the possibility of the abuser to have a positive impact in the community.
The roaring opiate epidemic in America continues destroying the addicted person and the very thing that plays an intricate part in returning to society as productive members; families and communities. Over the years, the opiate family has been helpful for individuals who suffer with chronic pain from severe issues such as cancer, gunshot pain, broken bones and even as simple as dental surgery (Sheahen, 2017 p.362). This literature review focuses on the prevalence of the substance user that overtime would need family and community support as well as treatment to recover. Despite this, managing pain can be difficult for even the non-addicted person and several factors should be considered when doctors are prescribing.
Summary: The opioid crisis is a quickly increasing epidemic of drug use. In trump's campaign he promised to declare a national emergency on opioids. He did not declare this early in his presidency and had not request any financial aid. Now, he is saying that drug abuse can affect anyone young and old that “This epidemic is a national health emergency.” Trump is encouraging Americans to not start using opioids to beginning with and is going back to using Nancy Reagan’s 1980’s anti-drug campaign slogan, “Just Say No.” Trump wants to overcome addiction in America. Because the Opioid Crisis is designated as a public health crisis, the health secretary can allow for some grant money to be use to deal with the opioid issue. This will allow
In the state of Arizona drug addiction is a problem that has been trying to be tackled due to the high rates of drug misusage. Arizona is the sixth highest state with the highest percent of drug misusage. Most of the rates are caused my kids and teenagers that use opioids. Many movements have been trying to be done to decrease these percentages. Some of these movements include providing Health Coaches in schools to let kids know of drug addiction and its consequences this is a movement Doug Ducey has provided to schools who have high rates in opioid abuse.
West Virginia has one of the highest rates for prescription drug abuse, and overdose in the nation. In order to change this it is important to understand what pharmacists do, their role in prevention, and the severity of prescription drug abuse. Pharmacists are known to dispense prescription drugs to patients and inform them about their use; However, one aspect of their career most people overlook is that Pharmacists must keep a sharp eye out for criminals looking to abuse these prescribed drugs.
Individuals may include individuals currently using or abusing opioids, individuals who have recently abstained from opioid or heroin use (individuals recently released from jail or treatment facilities are susceptible to relapse, and accidental overdose), as well as individuals with health issues concurrently taking CNS depressants. As the victims of the current opioid crisis do not fit the “typical” profile of a substance abuser (many communities affected are suburban or rural and racially homogenous), many populations are not regarded as being at high-risk, and may not receive the necessary potentially life-saving support or health interventions. Project DAWN follows a unique framework by not only targeting emergency responders, but also drug users, their friends, and their families. Not only does the program provide training for intervention it also acts as a lasting touchstone for drug users, their support networks, and health professionals. It is also offered regularly (every Friday afternoon at the Portsmouth County Health Department) for individuals to access the training and receive the
A survey found that “nearly 92 million U.S. adults, or about 38 percent of the population, took a legitimately prescribed opioid like OxyContin or Percocet in 2015, according to results from the National survey on Drug Use and Health” (Thompson). Some doctors full-heartedly believe that opioids are not a bad thing when the patient claims to be in pain. Dr. Forest Tennant says that his “job is to relieve pain and suffering” (Weissmueller). He refuses to deny his pain patients of opioid and to stop prescribing them. This to me seems dangerous to only have the concern of treating pain, because what if a patient claims they are experiencing pain when they are not? A grave percentage of patients are misusing opioid medications instead of only using them for their medical purposes. These dangerous pills are extremely addictive and even deadly, yet they are still being prescribed today. It is even thought that there is a lot of medicine leftover from a prescription. “Of those who misused prescription opioids, more than 50 percent got the medications as hand-me-downs from family or friends” (Thompson). This means that physicians could be writing smaller prescriptions or could even be writing other, less addictive medicines. I completely disagree with how some doctors are prescribing opioids. Some doctors and physicians are basically just handing addictive pain killers out as if they were a piece of candy. This carelessness makes it out to seem as