Opioids In America Research Paper

Superior Essays
America’s Wound The uprise of opioid related deaths is claiming countless lives everyday in the United States, medical and non-medical users are misusing this prescribed drug, and getting their hands on it, is easier than it should be. Millions of American users of this prescribed drug are easily becoming addicted and continue to be prescribed over and over again by doctors and physicians. Families are being torn apart and lives are being ruined by this highly addictive drug. The government has let this go on for too long. First, death and addiction affected thousands, now millions of people of all ages are experiencing and witnessing the horrors of addiction. This self-inflicted crisis is only beginning to boom, as it reaches more and …show more content…
According to the “Opioid Crisis” article, the current crisis began with the over-prescription of painkillers, between 1991 and 2011 prescriptions nearly tripled, “by 2016, “only” 215 million opioid prescriptions were dispensed” (Rothstein). As prescriptions increased, so did potency. This made them even more addicting. In addition, “The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that 91.5 million Americans are taking opioids” (Rothstein). This large scale of prescriptions has now taken its toll on America, out of millions of people, the risk of addiction, overdose, and Death is higher than ever. Today, At least 21 million people have an opioid use disorder (Murthy). Opioid addiction puts an immense pause on people’s lives and leaves a gaping hole filled with misery and confusion, leaving them to wonder how it all could of been avoided. In reality, the evasion of this problem was almost impossible, because the trust for caretakers and physicians was unintentionally manipulated. Are the users to be blamed, when the sense of security of a patient was falsely …show more content…
In 2016 opioid related deaths jumped by 21 percent and synthetic drug overdoses , such as fentanyl, nearly doubled since the previous year (Etter). “More than 200 States and localities” are suing companies who developed these medicals drugs, accusing them of mishandling these powerful drugs (Etter). This misconception of the developers led to the careless prescriptions to patients, setting them up for addiction. Patients who complained of back, joint, and muscle pain were being prescribed strong painkillers for non severe pain, for a quick solution to their problem. Which is why “these disorders have reached the rich and poor, urban and rural dwellers, and all race and ethnicity” (Murthy). This crisis has touched all corners of America

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    Library shows that more than two million Americans have become dependant on these prescriptions. Doctors have been prescribing opioids for some time and yet they still do not know a lot about them. There is not a clear solution on how to solve the opioid epidemic but pain specialist, Sean Mackey, explains his thoughts on the topic in an interview with VOX’s senior reporter…

    • 1546 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dreamland, by Sam Quinones, focused on the opiate epidemic that has been flourishing within America. Similarly, the documentary, Heroin Cape Cod, USA focused on the widespread abuse of Vicodin, Percocet, and Oxycodone that has led the U.S. into the rise of an opiate addiction today. Both of these sources not only focused on the operations behind the administration of opiates like heroin, but also the factors driving the epidemic in the U.S. A driving factor of the opiate epidemic both emphasized in Dreamland and Heroin Cape Cod, USA was the over prescription of opiates, leading to what is known as “pill mills.” It is important to stop and to reflect on the statistic that 80% of heroin users start with prescription pills.…

    • 1508 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The pharmacist’s role in the step towards dismantling the capitalistic market of opiates is to help their patients understand the dangers of painkillers being prescribed to them. The addictive and destructive natural of painkillers should be well understood by the patient after extensive counseling. The pharmacist also has the right to not dispense the opiate medication if their profession judgement has determined that it will ultimately be disastrous to the patient and the community. This will further limit the supply of opiates and cause damage to the capitalistic…

    • 1292 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Treatment vs. Incarceration for Opioid Abuse There are more than 15 million Americans that suffer from opioid abuse disorder (WHO,2014). This paper looks at treatment options verses incarceration. Out of the 2 million people in federal and state prison more than one-quarter of them suffer from drug abuse (Common Sense for Drug Policy, 2016). What is more astonishing is that most of them do not receive the treatment they need to recover from their opiate addiction.…

    • 1816 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    America’s Deadly Addiction Fueled by Big Pharma Over the past decade, a new drug has been circulating around the country killing millions. There are lots of names and variations of this highly addictive and dangerous drug, and it seems to be sold on almost every street corner in America to every demographic. Law enforcement has done nothing to tackle this emergent issue, and the drugs are becoming more and more prominent. Why has no one done anything about this drug ruining millions of lives?…

    • 1563 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Opioid diversion is certainly not a motive of respectable physicians, but it can become a by-product without regulations in place to prevent over-prescribing. While the goal of most physicians is to mitigate addiction, there are those that deliberately encourage the distribution of prescription opioids. Unfortunately, this “dealing” is not unfounded; physicians do indeed and perhaps will use their given ability and medical privilege to issue prescriptions in this malicious manner of opioid dispersal. In BMC Pharmacology and Toxicology, Dr. Mofizul Islam effectively discusses that the application of regulations in PDMPs would/will help to identify such questionable actions. This “fraudulent prescribing” and distribution of illegal substances is a formidable offense of which licensing boards must be made aware (2).…

    • 2048 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2016), the number of overdose deaths involving opioids quadrupled from the year 2000 to 2014. Almost half a million people died during this time due to an opioid overdose. This breaks down to seventy eight Americans dying a day. The Center for Disease Control also reports, “Overdoses from prescription opioid pain relievers are a driving factor in the fifteen year increase in overdose deaths. Since, 1999, the amount of prescription opioids sold in the U.S. quadrupled, yet there has not been and overall change in the amount of pain Americans report” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016, para. 2).…

    • 2271 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Hundreds of people die a day due to opioid overdose. This potent substance has been in the hands of physician and drug dealers who have passed it on to vulnerable people. The primary reason why this is such a huge issue is that FDA approved the majority of the medication. How did this happen? There was not enough evidence; physicians didn’t know how addictive opioid pain relievers are.…

    • 214 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Opioids Persuasive Speech

    • 752 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Opioid abuse can lead to severe overdose and death. Opioids are highly addictive due to its use as a pain reliever while also depressing emotions. Increased abuse of prescription opioids has correlated to an increase in the use of harder street drugs in areas that you wouldn’t except. Heroin use is among one of the most prevalent of these, “Heroin-related deaths increased 439% from 1999 to 2014” (Christensen, Hernandez).…

    • 752 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Fuentanyl Crisis

    • 904 Words
    • 4 Pages

    As for the bad prescribing practices of health professionals, many solutions have been found to eliminate that cause of the crisis. An recent article of the Medical Post advised health professionals to educate themselves about the signs of addictions, withdrawal and the treatment of dependence to opioid, including use of naloxone. (Giles, 2017, p.17) It…

    • 904 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The opioid epidemic has been an issue that the United States has struggled with since the early 1900’s. Opioids are drugs commonly used in medical practice to relieve pain. Before the knowledge we have currently on opioids, opioids were an essential in curing a range of symptoms; from relieving pain to being used as cough suppressants. Today, the war on opioids is at an all time high. In 2014, 14 thousand people died from an opioid overdose.…

    • 813 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Opioids In America

    • 906 Words
    • 4 Pages

    When it comes to the regulation of drugs Americans are not informed fully on what the FDA’s actions are. Overall, their job is to ensure the drugs will not cause a large amount of harm but there is a large amount of science they do not test. Richard Deyo, an MD from The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, wrote an address that started the FDA’s procedures are lacking by that statement that, “It does not review advertisements before use, assess cost-effectiveness, or regulate surgery (except for devices). Many believe postmarketing surveillance of drugs and devices is inadequate” (Deyo). Important factors like cost-effectiveness are not accounted for which leave families who cannot afford alternatives.…

    • 906 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Drug Abuse Solutions

    • 1512 Words
    • 7 Pages
    • 4 Works Cited

    In April 2011, President Obama addressed the issue in the White House position paper, Epidemic: Responding to America’s Prescription Drug Abuse Crisis. The Obama administration announced it would seek legislation-requiring doctors to undergo training before being permitted to prescribe potent narcotics (Smith 68). The current most popular solutions at any level have included solutions such as requiring physicians to gain certification of training in addictive mediation and applying a system of monitoring for those who are prescribing and being prescribed these medications. There have been more spins offs of these two ideas as well, such as harsh punishment for diving under the influence of these drugs. The FDA is currently undergoing investigations of how they can productively address the opioid abuse in America, “taking action to protect patients from serious harm due to these drugs, [finding a] careful balance between continued access to these necessary medications and stronger measures to reduce their risks.”…

    • 1512 Words
    • 7 Pages
    • 4 Works Cited
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Unlike Dr. Gounder, rural family physician Dr. Robert Wergin does not look forward to reducing the number of opioids he prescribes to his patients. Wergin worries about the overprescribing to patients that do not need the drugs, but firmly believes that a “one size fits all prescription algorithm just doesn’t fit [his patients], but [he] has to comply.” Of equal concern is the feeling of lost trust with patients, often offended by the suggestion of removing their regimen of pain pills: “Do you think I’m an addict?” is not an accusation any physician wants to face from a patient. With more regulation, these difficult patient interactions will become more common. Hoffman’s piece demonstrates that simply reducing the number of opioids does not provide a straightforward solution, and we must ask ourselves whether we are willing to let our government reduce the autonomy of our physicians because of the irresponsible prescribing practices of a select…

    • 1552 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the article, “Who Is Responsible for the Pain-Pill Epidemic?” by Celine Gounder and “How Did the Opioid Epidemic Get So Bad?”, by Dr. Sushrut Jangi, the topic of opioid addiction is discussed. This is an important topic to discuss because opioid abuse is a huge problem, and it can serve as a warning to those that don’t know that opioids are dangerous. Both authors agree that opioid addiction has gotten out of hand but they disagree on the idea of who is to blame. In Celine Gounder’s article, “Who Is Responsible for the Pain-Pill Epidemic?” it focuses on some of the reasons behind the pain-pill epidemic.…

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays