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Essay on opioid crisis
Opioid crisis research paper
Opioid crisis research paper
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The Opioid Crisis is something that has plagued our nation for quite some time now with over 30,000 deaths per year. This is definitely a problem that deserves attention but something about “safe injection sights” that really doesn’t bode well long term in my mind. Yes, I do think it’s up to us a nation to fight this battle but is it fair for us to hold the hands of people that know better? I think if someone is already past the point of no return that’s when help should be extended, but if we could get them before this addiction attacks their body that’s the only true way to help this. Let them save themselves there is no way these “safe injection sights” could possibly be accountable for everyone. Dr. Brian Johnson says something in the “Pro/Con”
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
Perhaps one of the most pressing concerns is health and the assumption that to a certain degree criminalization is justified by preserving health. Illicit drugs are, in reality, not as hazardous to public health as accustomed views present- particularly in relation to certain recreational activities that are legal. Of the 25,000 illegal drug use-induced fatalities the National Institute on Drug Abuse has brought to light, the majority is more correctly due to drug prohibition than consumption. Also, some 14,300 of the casualties are a result of diseases like AIDS, transferred (generally) because of contaminated drug injection needles. Needle exchange programs for sterile needles are encouraged by the World Health Organization, amongst many other international organizations, as it is considered as possibly the greatest innovation for the health improvement of users. However, the federal government disallows the appropriation of its funds to these programs because the possession and sale of syringes still remain largely illegal. Furthermore, - as I explain later on- between the sellers and producers, there is no real confidence in the contents and hence, dangerousness of a given street drug. Considering the already growing level of consumption, imagine the gains of, for example, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) supervising illicit drugs, parallel to their work on food and
After considering both parts of the issues I am all for methadone treatment and am about 50% on board for the needle exchange. For example, the needle exchange benefits people who get pierced benefit because the piercers must also use sterile needles even if this is not for drug use. But, at the same time needle exchange doesn’t necessarily reduce the spread of HIV and in the long run I don’t think that it’s worth it to showcase needle exchange as the top preventer of the transmittance of HIV. I am all for methadone treatment because of the fact that opiates are extremely hard to get off and at least this way it is proven that the addicts can at least try to assimilate themselves back into normal living if that is their wish.
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
Opioid’s chemical composition consist of many highly addictive substances which cause the human body to become quickly tolerant. Many opioid users become addictive to the substance because the doctors have been over prescribing. “In the United States, there were 14,800 annual prescribed opioid (PO) deaths in 2008” with the US having less restrictions (Fischer, Benedikt, et al 178). The United States have implemented more regulations so that “high levels of PO-related harms been associated with highly potent oxycodone formulas” will decrease (Fischer, Benedikt, et al 178). With the regulations, it does not change the fact that opioids are is destructive. The regulations assistance by lessening the probability of patients becoming addictive to opioid. There are numerous generations that are effected and harmed by the detrimental effects of opioids on opioid-dependent patients.
Opioid overdose is currently the most common cause of accidental death in Canada and the U.S. The opioid crisis is having a devastating effect on communities across Canada, taking its toll on opioid users as well as their friends and families.
Opiods are the most popular class of drugs used for post-cesarean analgesia. They are most useful in treatment of somatic pain. Use of morphine, diamorphine, fentanyl, sufentanil, meperidine, nalbuphine and buprenorphine is well documented. The various opiods differ in their potency and severity of side effects. A discussion of the merits and de-merits of each is beyond the scope of this article. The common minor side effects include nausea, vomiting, pruritus, shivering and urinary retention. Respiratory depression, especially late-onset, is a more dreaded complication.
Opiates are a class of drugs that are used for chronic pain. Opioids are substances that are used to relieve pain by binding opiate receptors throughout the body, and in the brain. These areas in the brain control pain and also emotions, producing a feeling of excitement or happiness. As the brain gets used to these feelings, and the body builds a tolerance to the opioids, there is a need for more opioids and then the possibility of addiction.
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
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
“Safe injection sites” are not a valid response to the Opioid Crisis it will defeat the purpose of treatment for people looking to end their addiction. If someone is an opioid drug addict, treatment to end the addiction would not be more appealing than going to an injection site to get high without prosecution. If addiction to opioid drugs is such a hard thing to stop, then it should not be promoted in any way.
The Government needs to draw the line somewhere. In Sweden the Government was giving out free heroin, in order to keep the drugs free from being impure. However, Margaret McKay (2001) declares that if we follow in same steps, soon we will be giving out not only free heroin, but also other illegal substances as well. It will then lead to problems with other drugs as well.
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 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.