They're everywhere nowadays, given to almost anyone who complains to a doctor about pain. In our communities, in our schools, and possibly even in your own home. Opiates are an unsuspecting killer. It is possible to save lives from addiction and overdoses by making it harder to obtain opiates from physicians, resulting in fewer prescription opiate users while also limiting the availability of dangerous opiates.
Every year doctors are prescribing more and more opiates. At the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics, Nora Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse reported that the number of prescriptions for opioids has escalated from around 76 million in 1991 to nearly 207 million in 2013. She also stated that in between …show more content…
According to the C.D.C in an article by the New York Times from 2012 to 2013 heroin-related deaths jumped 39%. This article also says that from 2002 to 2013 the rate of heroin-related overdose deaths nearly quadrupled.
Prescription opiates cause a lot of people to turn to heroin. The C.D.C reported that people addicted to prescription opioids are 40 times more likely to become addicted to heroin. The New York Times states that 75% of heroin addicts started out using prescription opioids. Dr. Jason Jerry, a drug and alcohol addiction specialist at the Cleveland Clinic estimates that half of the heroin addicts the clinic sees every month started on prescription opiates.
Conversely people argue that opiates are used to alleviate pain, and that people who are prescribed opiates don't always become hooked on them or move on to be heroin addicts. They say that limiting the availability of opiates would be unfair to patients with legitimate medical reasons. Despite the fact that many people do need these drugs, the risks of having them widely available far outweighs the rewards. Most heroin users start out using prescription opiates, and limiting the availability of them will help cut down casualties of the ongoing war against
Every year doctors are prescribing more and more opiates. At the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics, Nora Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse reported that the number of prescriptions for opioids has escalated from around 76 million in 1991 to nearly 207 million in 2013. She also stated that in between …show more content…
According to the C.D.C in an article by the New York Times from 2012 to 2013 heroin-related deaths jumped 39%. This article also says that from 2002 to 2013 the rate of heroin-related overdose deaths nearly quadrupled.
Prescription opiates cause a lot of people to turn to heroin. The C.D.C reported that people addicted to prescription opioids are 40 times more likely to become addicted to heroin. The New York Times states that 75% of heroin addicts started out using prescription opioids. Dr. Jason Jerry, a drug and alcohol addiction specialist at the Cleveland Clinic estimates that half of the heroin addicts the clinic sees every month started on prescription opiates.
Conversely people argue that opiates are used to alleviate pain, and that people who are prescribed opiates don't always become hooked on them or move on to be heroin addicts. They say that limiting the availability of opiates would be unfair to patients with legitimate medical reasons. Despite the fact that many people do need these drugs, the risks of having them widely available far outweighs the rewards. Most heroin users start out using prescription opiates, and limiting the availability of them will help cut down casualties of the ongoing war against