Fentanyl According to Susan Robertson, the drug fentanyl which is an opiate agonist, has been around since the 1960s and created by Dr. Paul Jansen. "The use of fentanyl as a pain reliever and anesthetic was quickly adopted in the medical setting. In the 1960s, the agent was introduced as an intravenous anesthetic under the brand name Sublimaze"(S.Robertson)pg.1. In the 90s fentanyl was turned into a patch which breaks down into the blood stream through a period of 72 hours.…
Fentanyl is a prescription drug that is often misused due to its addictive properties and it is cheaper than other street drugs. It is commonly used to control pain after surgery and treat patients with serious pain. Fentanyl also can be used to treat chronic pain (drugAbuse ,2016). The signs and symptoms of fentanyl abuse are Confusion, Depression, Difficulty walking, Nausea and vomiting, Itching & scratching, Sleepiness, Dizziness, Muscle stiffness, Labored breathing. In some cases, fentanyl use can cause coma, unconsciousness, or even death (drugabuse,2016).…
Codeine is a short-acting narcotic prescribed by physicians most often used for the treatment of pain relief. It is an opioid Codeine can be highly addictive and provides the user with an overall sense of calm and feelings of pleasure. When codeine is used it enters the brain and causes the release of neurotransmitters that stimulate the reward center of the brain, leaving the user feeling intense feelings of well-being and pleasure. This kind of pleasure can lead to both psychological and physical dependence. Some individuals use it for legitimate medical purposes, but over time develop an addiction problem.…
Essay #2-Chasing Heroin was a documentary that highlighted many different programs to help with America’s increasing Heroin issues. There were two programs that were mentioned to help people with their heroin addiction. The first program is known as the Law Enforcement Addiction Diversion program, or LEAD program. This program has a goal to not punish people for their addiction but to improve their quality of life. This program essentially gives users a second chance by instead of taking them to jail right away.…
Generic Name: Dolophine (Metadol) Proprietary Name: Mathadone Classification: Narcotic Methadone: (Meth-a-dohn) a potent opioid; Conducted by mouth or injection to relive discomfort. Also helps with cough and to treat heroin dependence. (A.McFerran, 2011) For this assignment I chose to do Methadone.…
Methadone is a Schedule II drug that belongs to the opioid family of drugs. Methadone it is an extended acting synthetic tranquilizing painkiller. In the early 1960s, two New York physicians, Marie Nyswander and Vincent Dole, ascertained that when methadone is taken on a daily base, it is a constructive habituated medical treatment for individuals who have become opioid addicts. Since the 1960s, methadone has been strategized to help people who are dependent on illicit drugs such as opioid, heroin, morphine, and codeine.…
Difficult Detox Drug addiction and substance abuse are not only prominent with the use of ‘street drugs’, the epidemic has been increasingly present in the world of prescription medications as well, even those that are used to ‘wean’ people off of other illicit drugs. Here are a list of some of the most commonly abused prescription, or ‘legal’ drugs, and their self-detox risks. SubOxone: The intended use of SubOxone is the treatment of opiate addiction, however, many individuals develop a dependency on this ‘alternative’ as well.…
There are more deaths that occur for fellow New Yorkers that results from drug overdoses than car crashes, homicides, and suicides all combined. Opioids makes up 80% of the drug overdoes in the city; which include heroin, morphine, oxycodone, hydrocodone and fentanyl. The treatment that works best for opioid addiction is the use of medications; specifically, methadone or buprenorphine. These medications lower the risk of relapse by stopping the strong cravings for opioids, which can occur in people for a long time even after they have stopped taking the drugs (Mabry 2018). Methadone and buprenorphine also block the effects of many opioids (Mabry 2018).…
My name is Megan Johnston and I am a registered nurse at a local hospital with nine years of critical care experience. During my career at the bedside, I have watched numerous parents, children, and other family members have to make the difficult decision to take their loved one off of life support and watch them die after an opioid drug overdose. To watch how devastating this is for patients and their loved ones is both heart wrenching and disturbing to me as a healthcare professional. The opioid crisis began to spiral in the 1990s when pharmaceutical companies told providers and prescribers that patients would not likely become addicted to opioid pain relievers, and therefore they were prescribed more frequently, which subsequently led to…
What Caused the Opioid Epidemic? Would you be surprised if I told you that the United States had 50% more people die last year due to a drug epidemic than in car accidents? I heard this on a news podcast and was shocked to find this statistic to be true. This drug crisis is the opioid epidemic we are currently facing in our country that last year alone claimed 60,000 lives. This prompted me to ask, why are we having this epidemic?…
The new wonder drug founded in Germany was called heroin after its German trademarked name. Heroin was imported into the United States, shortly after its invention. It was said that heroin was a “safe, non-addictive” substitute for morphine. Since this, heroin has always been a part of the American drug addiction problem. It has occasional spark ups, but the modern day epidemic has the potential to be America’s largest heroin epidemic…
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report from 2001 to 2014 there was a 6-fold increase in the total number of heroin related deaths nationwide. Ohio holds the record for the second-highest number of deaths caused by heroin overdose. That is nearly one death every three hours. These numbers could be much higher if it weren’t for in 2014 when the naloxone access law was passed. Naloxone (Narcan,) is an opiate antidote used to reverse the effects of opioids such as heroin.…
The opioid epidemic is the deadliest drug crisis in US history, killing thousands of people through disease and overdose. Recently, President Trump declared the growing crisis a “public health emergency.” Opioids are part of a drug class that includes the illegal drug heroin as well as powerful pain relievers, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine, fentanyl, and many others. Every day in the United States thousands of people are treated in emergency departments for not using prescription opioids as directed. Drug overdose is now the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S., and opioid addiction is driving this epidemic.…
In the year of 2013, it was estimated that the cost for opioid abuse was at $78.5 billion US dollars. (Williams and Wilkins, 2016) This cost is contributed to the healthcare costs, treatment, lost of productivity, and overdoses that can be fatal. If many close calls for fatal overdoses occur, the amount of money spent in the emergency department could potentially sky rocket healthcare bills if not covered by insurance. The impact from opioid use can directly affect the abuser as well as the family of the abusers.…
For most people, watching the news on television, reading the newspaper, or checking out the news on your phone is one of the first things you do in the morning. You’ll read about the upcoming elections, the scores of the previous night’s sporting events, and whatever or whoever else is getting their 15 minutes of fame at the time. Then, you’ll read about who has overdosed. It’s to the point where you’re expecting it. “Teen overdosed on Heroin two months before graduation,” or “Mother leaves behind three kids after overdosing on Black Tar,” the headlines usually read.…