Opioids Persuasive Speech

Throughout the past three decades, there has been a deadly nationwide epidemic in America. Like a disease, it has continued to spread in the United States causing sickness, broken up families, and death. However, this disease cannot be treated with antivirals, nor can be prevented with vaccines. This disease is the widespread misuse of opioids and opioid variants. Opioids have become so highly addictive and abused over the last 30 years that “between 1999 and 2019, nearly half a million people died from opioid overdose, over half of all US deaths due to drug overdose” (Gardner et.

Recent reforms can curb the opioid epidemic. Yes, health care professionals have realized the complex problem and they now understand the problem and what needs to be done. According to CQ Researcher, “Experts see some progress in the fight against opioid painkiller abuse. After peaking in 2012, the number of prescriptions written for opioids declined 12 percent between 2013 and 2015, according to IMS Health, a market research company. Symphony Health Solutions, a data company that studies the pharmaceutical industry, found an 18 percent drop in that period.”

Psychology truly is everywhere. “The Pain Medication Conundrum” is a news story that was published on August 13, 2015 in the New York Times written by Danielle Ofri. The news story discusses the confusing and difficult problem that the prescribing of pain medication has caused. In summary, the news story explains a situation where an old man, in his mid-60s, entered his primary doctor’s office asking for a prescription of oxycodone for pain because the clinic where he used to get it from closed. In the six months that the doctor had been seeing him, he was unaware that his patient was taking narcotic pain medication.

As elaborated by Katelyn Newman, in her article ¨A Personal Look at a National Problem¨, the opioid epidemic in America is both severing family relationships and resulting in widespread suffering. In the aftermath of the historic increase of prescription drug abuse in the United States, as well as the opioid epidemic being deemed a national emergency by President Donald Trump, Newman brings to light the true impacts the crisis is having on the United States. By generalizing the population, expressing her words in a solemn tone, and through alternating between narrating and informing, Katelyn Newman calls all americans to be conscience of the opioid epidemic, and the effects it is having on the relationships between people within the United States.

The opioids epidemic interventions are essential to prevent prescribed opioids abuse, promote safe prescriptions for individuals and decrease mortality rates. Furthermore, the goals in practicing safe and regulated medicine, enables the individual who needs opioids analgesics to control their pain and suffering. Implementing interventions to this issue would include holding health care professionals accountable for misconduct, educating and evaluating physicians, pharmacists, and monitoring prescribers to apply state laws and regulations. A collaborative approach to regulate, educate and monitor is inevitable for effective outcomes! Consequently, many physicians may possibly be hesitant prescribing opioids drugs to prevent penalties.

However, from 2013 to 2014 there was a 20 percent increase in drug overdoses. (4) Individuals with opioid prescriptions need to be educated, counseled and given appropriate help when

While it is equally important to stop opioid usage of all types, focusing on the most dangerous drugs can save lives, which is the goal of Dreifuss’s plan. Additionally,

It also states that legally prescribed opioids are generally safe when taken for a short amount of time and are prescribed by a doctor. It described that opioids can be misused by being taken in a different way, in larger quantities or without a doctor’s prescription. Also talks about the drug that can reverse an opioid overdose if given right away, which is naloxone (Abuse). b. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention states that since 1999 the number of overdose deaths involving opioids has quadrupled. The number of opioid involved deaths continues to increase in the United States.

“ Because they produce euphoria in addition to pain relief, they can be misused. Regular use- even as prescribed by a doctor can lead to dependence ,and when misused, opioid pain relievers can lead to overdose incidents and deaths” (Drugabuse.gov/opioids) Prescribing opioids have more dangers to the human than they do

Underlying Causes: The increase in the sale of opioids is considered to be the root of the opioid crisis, as the drugs have been proven to be highly addictive. An addiction to prescriptive opioids, however, can lead to an addiction to synthetic, illegal opioids, such as heroine or fentanyl, which are less expensive and easier to acquire. In fact, in their journal article, “Associations of nonmedical pain reliever use and initiation of heroin use in the United States” Pradip Muhuri and associates discovered that “the recent (12 months preceding interview) heroin incidence rate was 19 times higher among those who reported prior nonmedical prescription pain reliever (NMPR) use than among those who did not (0.39 vs. 0.02 percent)” (Muhuri et. al). In other words, abusing prescription opioids significantly raises the chances of abusing illicit drugs, such as heroin.

I think that doctors should give patients more information when prescribing opioids to patients. Many people that just had a painful surgery take opioids to stop their pain and then shortly get addicted after from taking the pills, I believe people would not get as tempted, and feel like it is ok to take opioids, if they knew they were highly addictive. Allen, a recovering addict, had to research her symptom to find out why she was having this temptation to take these pain killing pills when she was not even in pain. Allen’s doctor never told her about the danger of these “painkillers” but once Allen found out, she was concerned about herself, and knew she was addicted and in

Dependence on prescription opioids can stem from treatment of chronic pain and in recent years is the cause of the increased number of opioid overdoses. Opioids are very addictive substances, having serious life threatening consequences in case of intentional or accidental overdose. The euphoria attracts recreational use, and frequent,

Opioid Epidemic in the United States              The opioid crisis has risen over the years here in America. The addiction to painkillers has caused many drug overdoses across America. According to the Vox," In 2015, more than 52,000 people have died from drug overdoses from linked to opioids such as Percocet, heroin, Oxycontin or even fentanyl. This problem did not become an overnight health crisis, but it has become quickly known in America.             Expanding our drug treatment centers across America would provide the support to those who are addicted to drugs.

These pills, such as xanax and oxycodone allow people for short periods of time to withdraw from the harsh reality faced today. “Between 1997 and 2002, sales of oxycodone and methadone nearly quadrupled” (Okie). Around 15 years later and the prescription pill problem is continuing to skyrocket. Since prescription pills are dispersed out to anyone by doctors, many people do not realize that it is as much of an illicit drug as cocaine and heroin is. “Misinformation about the addictive properties of prescription opioids and the perception that prescription drugs are less harmful than illicit drugs are other possible contributors to the problem” (NIDA).

Prescription drugs (opiates only) have caused over 165,000 deaths within the last 15 years and is currently on the rise. Over 2 million Americans in 2014 were addicted to Opiate prescription narcotics. The most troubling fact is listed directly on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website: “As many as 1 in 4