Opioid

Opioids are psychoactive substances derived from the opium poppy, or their synthetic analogues. They are natural, semisynthetic or synthetic narcotic drugs used as painkiller such as morphine, meth or methadone, oxycodone, fentanyl, hydrocodone, codeine, hydromorphone and buprenorphine. They are legal only when prescribed. Opioid overdose (OOD) occurs by accident or on purpose. OOD depresses central nervous and respiratory systems leading to drowsiness, slow breathing, pinpoint pupils, bluish…

Throughout the last 10 years opioid overdosing is up a total of 200%. There is a new trend in the 21st century, and we can’t turn our back to the facts. Drug overdosing is a problem. The one way to lower this number is to stop it from beginning at all. Most people start using drugs for different reasons. Most people start because of risk-taking, impulsivity, peer pressure, and immaturity, and even after that one hit you can become addicted or feel the need to do it again, and before you know it…

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…

The opioid crisis is a problem that has been on the rise for the past years. According to research about 300 people die a day due to opioid addiction. Papaver somniferum otherwise known as the opium poppy is a plant that produces the base for many pain reliever however it is extremely addicting. In the medical field, opium is extremely important and doctors prescribe medication with this substance on a daily basis. Approximately 80 percent of the world’s opioid supply is consumed by the United…

medieval Europe killing millions of people. This occurred during the 14th century. It is now the 21st century and we are faced with a new "black death" called prescription opioid drug abuse. Prescription opioid drug abuse has been on the rise in the United States since 2001 and is now considered an epidemic. Prescription opioid drug abuse is an obvious issue in today's society, as a result, steps are being taken to reduce or eliminate the abuse of prescription opiates--but at what…

Opioid War Among with wars in Syria and Ukraine, Afghanistan and Iraq, and many other wars, people all over the world are fighting in the Opioid war. Yes, it is a war; because people fight for their family, friends, relatives, and fellow citizens. America is now in top five opioid countries in the world based on the consumption of opioids, in doses, per million people per day. This problem is huge and it is composed of the wide range of issues like prescription drugs, their advertisement and…

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? How could we be having such a massive amount of deaths each…

In recent discussions of opioid addiction, a controversial issue has been whether authorities should focus on widely distributing Naloxone or focus on committing an effort toward more accessible treatment centers. On one hand, some authorities advocate that making Naloxone widely available is crucial because Naloxone significantly lowers deaths by overdose. On the other hand, however, others, such as Geoff Mulvihill and Michael Sisak argue in their article “Recovery After Overdoses: Stopping…

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. In CNN’s article, Opioid History: From “wonder drug”…

(American Academy of Pain Medicine, 2016). Opioids are the primary treatment option for pain management in the U.S (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). In spite of this, the misuse and abuse of prescription opioids has led to a nationwide opioid epidemic;…