ipl-logo

Misconceptions In Chasing The Dragon

593 Words3 Pages

The short film Chasing the Dragon is about how every individual on the planet is at risk of opiate addiction. This addiction does not discriminate and can end an individual’s life. In fact, the opiate epidemic has spread so quickly and vast due to a false perception that only certain demographics are at risk. Again, that perception is 100% false people regardless of race, religion, background etc. can become victims each day. According to the movie “Approximately one in five high school seniors reports misusing prescription drugs at least once in their lifetime.” This just means that even young minds can be affected by the deadly use of drugs.
The information that I have obtained from this short film is that prescription pain pills and weed are the gateway drugs to stronger and harsher drugs. In fact, Prescription drugs are extraordinary accessible and can swiftly lead to addiction if abused. Again, according to the film “A life-consuming routine that revolves around seeking opiates emerges once a person becomes addicted” It is this routine that is best described by the expression “chasing the dragon.” Misconceptions are very common that overdoses are only associated with abuse of large …show more content…

Typically, people who double up in quantity or experiment with various drugs are searching for that “first high” sensation. Throughout the film, live interviews of real testimonies were shared showing raw emotion of how they became seriously addicted to drugs and their outcomes. In addition, some of the side effects of being addicted were infections, maggots, blood borne pathogens, and even overdose. The worse part about this addiction would be the withdrawal. Withdrawal from opiates is often extremely difficult and represents a significant challenge to breaking the cycle of

Show More
Related

  • Methadone Case Study Summary

    229 Words  | 1 Pages

    of Methadone and she reported maintain a satisfactory dosing level. During the last quartet, Pt. learned about heroin use, resentment, powerlessness and treatment progress. Pt. seemed to understand that she was completely without power, without strength, without any ability to control how much she used during her addiction.

    Read More

  • Jacob Sullum's 'Saying Yes'

    280 Words  | 2 Pages

    This is a summary taken from “Saying Yes” by Jacob Sullum; Chapter 8; “Body and Soul”. An ever-present theme in Sullum’s book is what he calls “voodoo pharmacology”—the idea, promoted in large part by the government, that certain drugs have the power to hijack people and enslave them in an inescapable prison of craving and compulsion. Sullum seeks to show that this idea is a myth, that only a tiny percentage of illegal-drug users become addicts, whereas the vast majority of people who use illegal drugs live normal, productive, loving lives. The book is filled with valuable insights derived from deconstructing government statistics about drugs and drug use. Sullum shows how even the most vilified drugs, such as heroin and crack cocaine, are

    Read More

  • Summary Of A Personal Look At A National Problem By Katelyn Newman

    666 Words  | 3 Pages

    She creates a fallacy that these drugs affect each abuser the same exact way. By saying that ¨everyone's body rapidly builds a tolerance for opioids¨, and that taking opioids always results in ¨a calm and happy high¨, she creates a false sense of universality among both drug users and drug abusers. She does not take into account that everyone's body is different, and everyone's body reacts to stimuli (including drugs) differently. Newman is not an addict herself, yet she creates an ¨ideal¨ picture about what the epidemic seems to be.

    Read More

  • Crank Ellen Hopkins Essay

    833 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ellen Hopkins’ Crank is an epic poem geared toward warning young people of the various consequences of using dangerous drugs. However important its message, it provides a single story, a stereotypical tale influenced by pop culture about addiction and the people it affects. In the poem, the heroine, Kristina Snow, gets addicted to methamphetamines, otherwise known as “crank”. Her life takes a downward turn that includes pregnancy and dropping out of school. The poem depicts just one experience with drug abuse and links it to what is perceived to be the most likely thing to happen if you get addicted to drugs, providing a false single story for the young people it targets.

    Read More

  • Long Term Opiate Users Research Paper

    1574 Words  | 7 Pages

    Methods: The study conformed to the ethical standards of the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Australian Catholic University ethics committee. Twenty-six adults aged 22 to 52 years were chosen for the opiate-user group and 30 adults aged 18 to 53 years with no history of drug use were chosen for the control group. There was no difference in gender, but the participants in the opiate-user group were long-term users and were all enrolled in an opiate substitution program. Participants were recruited to the opiate-user group with fliers in pharmacies and drug rehabilitation centers, and the control group using social networks. All participants gave informed consent and were given AU$20 (USD$20).

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On The Opioid Crisis

    935 Words  | 4 Pages

    I. Importance: As American deaths from drug overdoses continue to rise in the United States, the nation is faced with a public health crisis so profound that in October 2017, President Trump declared the opioid epidemic to be a national public health emergency (Merica). President Trump’s declaration came after numerous studies indicating the danger opioid addiction posed; for example, a 2016 study entitled “Increases in Drug and Opioid-Involved Overdose Deaths—United States, 2010-2015” claimed that drug overdose deaths “nearly tripled during 1999-2014,” reaching a startling high 52,404 deaths in 2015 (Rudd, et al). These statistics are more than just disturbing revelations regarding the opioid crisis; they are evidence of a serious problem that is rapidly affecting the lives of more and more Americans every year. Death by overdose is not the only public policy concern, however, as millions of Americans are also addicted to prescription opioids.

    Read More

  • Informative Essay On Opioids

    485 Words  | 2 Pages

    Without patient’s being aware of how to power the drug was, it eventually leads to the Opioids Crisis in America which now put a horrible word for the doctors and companies when it all starts by one person abusing the opioid pill. President Donald J. Trump idea that he had in mind was stated in the article of America’s Opioid Crisis, “But he reinforced the idea that the victims are to blame with an offhand reference to LSD.” Which indeed has the fact that people are to blame for misusage of the

    Read More

  • Opioid Overdose Research Paper

    596 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dependence on prescription opioids can stem from treatment of chronic pain and in recent years is the cause of the increased number of opioid overdoses. Opioids are very addictive substances, having serious life threatening consequences in case of intentional or accidental overdose. The euphoria attracts recreational use, and frequent,

    Read More

  • Opioid Epidemic Research Paper

    685 Words  | 3 Pages

    Opioid Epidemic in the United States              The opioid crisis has risen over the years here in America. The addiction to painkillers has caused many drug overdoses across America. According to the Vox," In 2015, more than 52,000 people have died from drug overdoses from linked to opioids such as Percocet, heroin, Oxycontin or even fentanyl. This problem did not become an overnight health crisis, but it has become quickly known in America.             Expanding our drug treatment centers across America would provide the support to those who are addicted to drugs.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Opioid Addiction

    480 Words  | 2 Pages

    This question is addressed in the third section of the article. For that reason, the author writes with a rhetoric of pathos to encourage the reader to persevere and also purchase Naloxone, a drug which can alter the effects of opioids in case of emergency. Since addiction is an emotional subject, this section of the article contains much pathos rhetoric

    Read More

  • Norman Zinberg's Theory Of Drug Use

    722 Words  | 3 Pages

    There is a multitude of reasons as to why people use drugs. Current theories on drug use include using drugs to rebel against authority, as a means to escape personal issues or in response to conflict occurring in the world around them. There isn’t a sole valid explanation for drug use, but all these reasons have overlapping themes: context and environment, which relates back to a new theory that aims to change the ways in which we analyze drug use. Drug, set and setting is a theory coined by Norman Zinberg which is necessary to validate drug use in all its variations because it considers a multitude of factors, including context and environment when attempting to understand drug use in society. Before we can apply Zinberg’s theory to different

    Read More

  • Sam Quinones Dreamland Analysis

    1557 Words  | 7 Pages

    Sam Quinones’ Dreamland is a commentary about the opioid problem in America. Quinones draws attention to how in the twentieth century opioids were seen as addictive: “[D]octers treating the terminally ill faced attitudes that seemed medieval when it came to opiates” (184). In the 1970s, Purdue Pharma stated that opioids such as morphine were not addictive substances. After this study was released, many doctors began to view opioids as a viable option for pain relief. Throughout the rest of the book, Quinones explains the shift from doctors never prescribing opiates to prescription opiates being used to treat any sort of pain: chronic back pain, arthritis, severe headaches, etc.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis: I Will Always Write Back

    743 Words  | 3 Pages

    Particular Purposes An author’s purpose is often revealed through the rhetorical strategies that he/she uses throughout their piece. David Sheff uses anecdotes and emotional appeal in order to achieve his purpose: to give a different view on the disease that is addiction. Similarly, Caitlin Alifirenka, Martin Ganda, and Liz Welch use emotional appeal and contrast of perspective in I Will Always Write Back to convey the message that standard of living should not limit a person’s capabilities. David Sheff’s memoir contains emotional appeal to achieve its purpose.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Drug Addiction In Fahrenheit 451

    970 Words  | 4 Pages

    These pills, such as xanax and oxycodone allow people for short periods of time to withdraw from the harsh reality faced today. “Between 1997 and 2002, sales of oxycodone and methadone nearly quadrupled” (Okie). Around 15 years later and the prescription pill problem is continuing to skyrocket. Since prescription pills are dispersed out to anyone by doctors, many people do not realize that it is as much of an illicit drug as cocaine and heroin is. “Misinformation about the addictive properties of prescription opioids and the perception that prescription drugs are less harmful than illicit drugs are other possible contributors to the problem” (NIDA).

    Read More

  • Arguments Against Big Pharma

    1087 Words  | 5 Pages

    Prescription drugs (opiates only) have caused over 165,000 deaths within the last 15 years and is currently on the rise. Over 2 million Americans in 2014 were addicted to Opiate prescription narcotics. The most troubling fact is listed directly on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website: “As many as 1 in 4

    Read More

More about Misconceptions In Chasing The Dragon

Open Document