Opioid Abuse Research Paper

Across the world abusing prescription drugs causes more deaths than street drugs do combined (“International Statistics”). Prescription drugs are so easy to get ahold of and so easy to get addicted to. The misuse of prescription drugs have gotten out of hand. These drugs can cause unintentional overdoses easily. The misuse of prescription drugs can lead to addiction, affect the health of users in a dramatic way, and even cause death.

Drug abuse is the habitual taking of addictive or illegal drugs in order to feel a euphoria, treat pain, or help with sleeping disorders. Drug abuse is a chronic brain disease that causes drug use despite the harmful consequences to the user and the people around them. In Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, the dystopian society portrayed is oblivious to the impact of the censorship around them. Books are banned and if found, they are burned along with their houses. The people in this society do not have time to think about anything because they are constantly surrounded by the constant chaos of loud noises on commercials or televisions and are over stimulated. Addiction and drug abuse is used as a way to escape the harsh problems in society.

There was improvement in many areas of the country following the crackdown on prescription drug abuse and pill mills. However, another result of the crackdownwas a diminution in the availability of prescription painkillers and the price for the painkillers on the street became more expensive.The ones who became addicted to painkillers during the pill mill epidemic then turned to heroin. The crackdown of pill mills inadvertently fueled the epidemic of heroin. “Between 2007 and 2012, heroin use rose 79 percent nationwide, according to federal data. Within the same period, the data show, 81 percent of first-time heroin users had previously abused prescription drugs” (Markon and Crites, 2014).

Recent reforms can curb the opioid epidemic. Yes, health care professionals have realized the complex problem and they now understand the problem and what needs to be done. According to CQ Researcher, “Experts see some progress in the fight against opioid painkiller abuse. After peaking in 2012, the number of prescriptions written for opioids declined 12 percent between 2013 and 2015, according to IMS Health, a market research company. Symphony Health Solutions, a data company that studies the pharmaceutical industry, found an 18 percent drop in that period.”

Nonetheless, medical professionals are becoming increasingly worried about the risks associated with using these opioid drugs, especially when they’re taken for a longer period of time.

This paper will discuss the ensuing difficulties regarding teenage non-medical prescription drug use and the possible alternatives to reduce abuse in the youth population.

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.

          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.

mends the Controlled Substances Act to increase the number of patients that a qualifying practitioner dispensing narcotic drugs for maintenance or detoxification treatment is initially allowed to treat from 30 to 100 patients per year.

The opium poppy plant produces substances that act as a pain reliever. Most opioid drugs like morphine and hydrocodone that treat severe pain, contain the products of these poppy plants. Opioids are powerful narcotics that have over the years been taken advantage of but should exclusively be for medical purposes only prescribed by physicians. Nabarun Dasgupta is a pharmaceutical epidemiologist who has a Ph.D. in pharmacy from the University of North Carolina. Nabarun wrote a peer-reviewed article about the opioid crisis and how economic factors intensify the epidemic. He reports, it is false to say that overprescription is the only cause of this national crisis. Dasgupta claims that some of the blame must also go to structural components like

The drinking age in America has been unchanged over many years but I believe that this is one area of law that should stopped being overlooked as it may be the cause for many unforeseen negative effects. The amount of taxpayers money that is spent on the current law system is outrageous for many reasons, one reason is the number of people in jail or correctional facilities. As we move on to try and better our society in gender inequality and many other areas this is a area that deserves to be targeted as well. One of the ways we could limit the number of people in the law system is ridding the system of unjust laws. Another way is to try to teach people the effects of using alcohol in a responsible manner. This is not a topic that should only

we are living through the worst epidemic of addiction in american history, and the drugs causing the most deaths are legal prescription opioids like oxycontin, percocet, and vicodin. How did so many of us get addicted to painkillers? and why are so many americans dying from drug overdoses? to find out you have to go back to the early 90s. Before that time doctors generally considered opioids dangerous but in 1996 a company called purdue pharma released a new drug ,oxycontin. purdue spent hundreds of millions of dollars to convince doctors that oxycontin was safe and not addictive. there marketing strategy worked, their prescriptions for oxycontin skyrocketed but purdue 's claim that oxycontin was safe and not addictive just wasn 't true. as sales skyrocketed so did addiction, overdoses, and death.

Another effective treatment option for opioid (opiate) addiction is a medication called Buprenorphine. Buprenorphine is an opioid medication similar to the ones prescribed for chronic pain and may still cause a person to have withdrawal when the treatment is started. When a health care provider mixes Buprenorphine with naloxone the mixture will block the feeling from the other opioids. The two medications put together are called suboxone. It acts as an opioid receptor in the brain that controls cravings and sickness from not having opiates. The fact that it blocks the feeling one gets from taking opiates is very helpful in the treatment process because if the abuser feels like they want and need to use opiates, doing so won’t be effective for

Opioids are substances that act on opioid receptors to produce morphine-like effects. Medically they are primarily used for pain relief, including anesthesia. Opioids are also frequently used non-medically for their euphoric effects or to prevent withdrawal symptoms. Examples of opioids are morphine, heroin, oxycodone, and methadone. Opioid overdose is an acute and serious condition due to excessive opioids use. 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,

I am thankful for the opportunity and for the invitation to be speaking in front of this Joint Session of Congress. I am grateful to be able to speak to, not only the men and women who make final changes, but to the public who have made the decision to listen in and inform themselves on public matters. It has come to my attention that many have put aside the dangers currently occurring with the youth of America. As a whole, many have decided to ignore the many building blocks that build our children to become wonderful men and women. These “building blocks” are now tumbling down and missing pieces. The youth of America is silently suffering and we are not directing enough attention towards them.