Opioid addiction has increasingly spread to all areas of America. With the number of deaths due to opioid related accidents rising, America is in a frenzy to react. Members of Congress and the President of the United states have attempted to control the chaos caused by opioids. However, there is a surplus of controversy concerning the best system to counteract the damage caused by opioid abuse. Recent reforms created to deter the abuse of opioids, could cause a spiral of chaos.
Many of the recent suggested reforms are focused on rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is important, but the way drugs are being obtained and produced contributes to the rise in opioid abuse. Opioids in the form of pain killers can be obtained through doctor shopping; a tactic consisting of going to multiple physician 's to gain prescriptions. Heroin, a more lethal form of opioid, is being illegally imported from Mexico and is produced with traces of fentanyl and carfentanil, which is used in elephant tranquilizers. Those additives in the already dangerous drug are irresistible to addicts. The reforms are all in the spirit of creating a better situation for addicts, but that should not be the only concern. The issue is not just being an addict, but the option of becoming an addict. Former National Institute on Drug Abuse director DuPont comments how the …show more content…
Heroin users often use other drugs than just heroin. This highly addicting and harmful drug is usually only one of the many substances the addict has abused. Many users are still under the affects of marijuana, cocaine or other drugs. This puts heroin users at a higher risk of relapsing. The addictions are intertwined and there is not a specific solution for the problem as a whole. “The heroin problem is not just about heroin; the opioid problem is not just about [non-heroin] opioids” (qtd. in Katel 822) because there are so many factors that affect rehabilitation
Many of the recent suggested reforms are focused on rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is important, but the way drugs are being obtained and produced contributes to the rise in opioid abuse. Opioids in the form of pain killers can be obtained through doctor shopping; a tactic consisting of going to multiple physician 's to gain prescriptions. Heroin, a more lethal form of opioid, is being illegally imported from Mexico and is produced with traces of fentanyl and carfentanil, which is used in elephant tranquilizers. Those additives in the already dangerous drug are irresistible to addicts. The reforms are all in the spirit of creating a better situation for addicts, but that should not be the only concern. The issue is not just being an addict, but the option of becoming an addict. Former National Institute on Drug Abuse director DuPont comments how the …show more content…
Heroin users often use other drugs than just heroin. This highly addicting and harmful drug is usually only one of the many substances the addict has abused. Many users are still under the affects of marijuana, cocaine or other drugs. This puts heroin users at a higher risk of relapsing. The addictions are intertwined and there is not a specific solution for the problem as a whole. “The heroin problem is not just about heroin; the opioid problem is not just about [non-heroin] opioids” (qtd. in Katel 822) because there are so many factors that affect rehabilitation