Prescription Opioids In Brave New World By Aldous Huxley

“And do remember that a gramme is better than damn.” In the novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, drug use is regarded as part of daily life and often glorified by the characters. While the characters in Huxley’s novel have no problem using drugs to replace their emotions, prescription opioid abuse has become a major concern in the United States. Prescribing guidelines for these drugs need to be stricter in order to prevent prescription drug abuse from growing.

Prescription opioids are pain relievers such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine that have been prescribed to the patient by a doctor. However, prescription drug abuse is a growing trend in America. Many pharmaceutical companies have played a large role in creating this epidemic. Companies such as Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson, and Endo Pharmaceuticals began a trend of marketing the drugs for minor pain such as neck and back in 1990. Prior to this prescription opioids had only been prescribed to patients with long term illness and pain, such as cancer patients. As well as

While the CDC’s new guidelines would make it more difficult to prescribe opioids, it would not be impossible for the patients to receive the prescription. Even with most pain medications being ranked as Schedule II by the DEA, it still would not be impossible for patients to get a prescription for them. Schedule II would require doctors to submit the prescription over a secure network and for patients to have a paper copy of the prescription when they pick it up (Vicodin). While this might seem like a hassle to opponents, the longer process is meant to deter those who are looking to use the drugs for non-medical purposes. These stricter guidelines do not make it impossible for patients who actually need the drugs to get them, they simply make it harder for someone to potentially abuse