Persuasive Essay On Opioids

Although this epidemic has been surging for the past 30 years, there has yet to have been an effective solution to drastically reduce the number of deaths and recurring addictions. The U.S. government has implemented different solutions, but the use of opioids still prevails. Even though drug use is criminalized in most places in the U.S., people are still continuing to use and abuse drugs. While many different approaches are hypothesized to stop the use of drugs, new forms of opioid use and problems seem to arise. There exists stigmas, stereotypes, and false information that have spread about drug use and addiction which hinders people's abilities to be able to understand and offer help to addicts and drug users.

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

Other Opioids played roles in overdosed deaths, 137 died in 2012 and 107 in 2013. The people that are dying are typically are young men and women that are targeted, due to the fact that there’s nothing to do (In same term the documentary used). My personal experience dealing with a heroin addict was in my senior year I had moved to a different school that was more diverse of white. I made greats friends, especially with these two guys they were fraternal twins. We all grow close in friendship in senior year, one of the twin had died the early year of 2015.

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,

Availability of opioids puts more and more people at risk for addiction. A simple prescription from the doctor for a migraine or back pain can turn into an addiction. Doctors are faced daily with patients who complain of pain, acute and chronic. It has become a simple solution for them to write out a prescription for pain medication to help their patient. In turn, not helping them at all.

“ 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.

Opioid pain medications are some of the most commonly abused prescription drugs. Between 1991 and 2010, opioid prescriptions rose from about 75.5 million to 209.5 million. Americans account for 4.6% of the world’s population but consume approximately 80% of the world’s opioid supply. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 12 million people used prescription painkillers for nonmedical reasons in 2010. Opioid abuse has led to increases in emergency-department visits, hospitalizations, and admissions to substance-abuse treatment centers at a time when our healthcare system is already strained.

Most people will continue their drug abuse as they don’t want a way out of their getaway. Most people abuse easily accessible drugs like ones from doctors or friends who supply them drugs. Often people who want pain medications will go and get them prescribed to them. They use pain medications as a form of help for their struggles. With how easily these drugs are to get, people will take advantage of the drug.

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

People get so immersed in their addiction that they will do anything necessary to acquire funds to get their next fix. It’s an unwinnable situation that leaves the perpetrator immune to morality while victimizing others for