A World Full Of Drugs

Opioid use in the US has increased over the years, and this has led to an increase in substance abuse. Substance abuse is not only associated with use of illicit drugs but also prescription drugs. In 2015, of the 20.5 million reported cases of substance abuse, 2 million had an abuse disorder related to prescription pain relievers and 591,000 associated with heroin.1 The increase in substance abuse disorder has led to an increase in opioid related death. In 2015 drug overdose was the leading cause of accidental death in the US with 52, 404 lethal drug overdoses.2

The use of opioids and other drugs continues to gradually increase in the United State. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of overdose deaths involving opioids has quadrupled since 1999” (CDC website). Individuals are abusing prescription opioids such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and methadone. Prescriptions opioids that are supposed to be used as pain relievers, cough suppressants and for withdrawal symptoms are being use by individuals in order to feel relaxed or for the overwhelming effect of euphoria. These types of drugs are to be taken orally, but people are snorting, smoking, and injecting them in order to get a better high. I have personal encounters with opioid drugs and opioid abuser on a regular

Many people do not understand why or how other people become addicted to drugs. Drug addiction is a complex chronic disease that causes impairment with the mind to express emotion, engage into physical activities and simply being one’s self. In fact, through scientific research, people understand more about how drugs work in the brain more than ever, and they also know that drug addiction can be successfully treated with some help from those who want change in the death rates amongst drug addict Americans. No one will ever truly understand why a person performs such deadly behaviors, but this is their way of crying out for help. It is time to take a stand and help those in need of escape from drugs and

Opioid drugs are some of the most widespread pain medications that we have in this country; indeed, the fact is that opioid analgesic prescriptions have increased by over 300% from 1999 to 2010 (Mitch 989). Consequently, the number of deaths from overdose increased from 4000 to 16,600 a year in the same time frame (Mitch 989). This fact becomes even more frightening when you think about today; the annual number of fatal drug overdoses in the Unites States now surpasses that of motor vehicle deaths (Alexander 1865). Even worse, overdose deaths caused by opioids specifically exceed those attributed to both cocaine and heroin combined (Alexander 1865).

There have been several news coverages on TV and social network about drug overdose of different cases recently and they have risen people’s concern about the problems of drug abuse national-wide. The drug abuse and opioid epidemic is not a new problem to the American society, actually it has been a serious problem for many years. So what is the situation of drug epidemic now, and how can we find effective ways to deal with this problem? A few writers who ponder this question are Nora D. Volkow, Dan Nolan and Chris Amico.

Data has showed that the situation is getting terrible and more worse. Overdose deaths will continue to soar until opioids are prescribed more carefully and until the treatment for opioid addiction is easier to obtain. Opioids are drugs that stimulate the mind when taking. Some are made from opium and some are synthetic. Hydrocodone and oxycodone are the most frequently prescribed opioids in the US. Opioids are good medicines for relieving pain. They help when you use them after having

The over use of opioid has been one of the major public health problem in the United States (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2018). Opioids include prescription medications that are used to treat pain symptoms which includes codeine, morphine, methadone, hydrocodone, and etc., as well as illegal drugs such as heroin and illicit potent on opioids such as fentanyl analogs (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2018). The opioid overdose could happen due to many factors such as when a patient deliberately misuses a prescription, or misuse heroin (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2018). Opioid overdose could happen due to the prescriber miscalculated the opioid dose or when

The United States is currently in the midst of an Opioid overdose epidemic. Deaths from overdoses of prescription drugs continue to be the leading cause of unintentional death for Americans. Last year, 47,055 people died from drug overdoses - 1.5 times greater than the number killed in car crashes. Overdose is an excessive and very dangerous dose of a drug. Opioids are substances that act on opioid receptors to produce morphine-like effects. Medically, they are primarily used for pain relief. The most commonly prescribed opioid medications are Vicodin, OxyContin, and Percocet. Drug overdoses can be either accidental or intentional. They occur when a person takes more than the medically recommended dose. Treatments for overdose include medications

Additionally, opioid medications are the primary cause for overdose deaths in the United States. According to the Weekly Standard, “In 2014, the most recent year for which we have measurements, 47,055 Americans died from drug-induced deaths, with almost 29,000 dying from opioids…” (2), a figure that includes illicit synthetics, heroin, and prescriptions. From 2015 to 2016 in Maryland, fentanyl deaths rose by 268 percent and heroin deaths by sixty eight percent. Fentanyl has contributed to this dramatic increase in OD deaths because of its potency and lethality. It only takes two milligrams of fentanyl to kill a human. In fact, a single kilogram of fentanyl is capable of killing 500,000 people (Murray, Blake, and Walters 2). More than 30,000 opioid deaths occurred for the first time ever in 2015, which is 5,000 more than in 2014. Since the 1990s, heroin deaths had not surpassed prescription opioids (oxycodone and hydrocodone) until now. In 2007, gun homicides outnumbered heroin deaths at a rate of five to one, however at the height of the epidemic, now heroin OD deaths outnumber gun homicides (Ingraham 2). It is obvious that these unprecedented levels of drug deaths are derived from the opioid epidemic and need immediate attention.

Although some people argue for the legalization of drugs, addiction to these substances has caused a huge increase in violent crimes in the home, at school, and on the street. Many people do not understand why individuals become addicted to drugs or how drugs change the brain to create compulsive drug abuse. They mistakenly view drug abuse and addiction as strictly a social problem and may characterize those who take drugs as morally weak. One very common belief is that drug abusers should be able to just stop taking drugs if they are only willing to change their behavior. This is a false and uneducated belief. Drug abuse may start as a social problem or social escape but one the addiction has taken ahold of a person

Humans are like ships we need a lighthouse to light us through the dark night, navigating through the rocky shallow waters. However, we never see the rocky water that is being shaken beneath the ship until they just sink. According to the National drug survey, more than 22 million Americans at the age of 12 and older (9 percent of the U.S population) use illegal drugs. As people, we tend to hide away from the evil that prevails us (i.g.e school,work, or problems, etc). If we choose to, we can live in a world of comforting illusion. We can allow ourselves to be deceived by false realities. Drugs are a problem that we cannot just be blinded by, they mirror false realities as a means to escape into a different vacuum of perception. First, we

If you have ever seen the movie The Wolf on Wall Street, there is no doubt you have seen the effects drugs can have. Leonardo DiCaprio portrays a high-strung stock broker reliant on a multitude of illegal drugs to keep up with his hectic life style. His addiction gets so severe that at one point in the movie, he is lying on the floor, unable to move due to the drugs’ effects on his body. Even though the movie is set in the 90’s, a decade infamous for its use of drugs, today, drug usage and abuse has never been more of an issue. According to Alice Park (2016), “More people died of drug overdoses in 2014 in the U.S. than in any other year” (p.49). What people fail to realize is that drug abuse effects more than just the individual that uses them. The loved ones trying to support the user, the community the user is in, can all be affected by drug abuse. In fact, all members of society are affected by the abuse of drugs. In short, no one benefits from drug abuse. In the words of the Nation Institute of Drug Abuse, “Drug abuse is a major public health problem that impacts society on multiple levels. Directly or indirectly, every community is affected by drug abuse and addiction, as is every family. Drugs take a tremendous toll on our society at many levels” ( Magnitude, 2016).

A multibillion dollar industry, with a consumer population of about 125 to 203 million people; the drug industry affects lives of all racial, ethnic, economic , social background, including participants in the drug industry, addicts, teenagers, parents, families, and officers of the law. Many people have encountered an experience with drugs and or drug education; the shared experience regarding the discussion of this topic or illegal experience brings importance to this current issue and validates the proposal for change. How much change, what change and how long will the change take place. Although this issue has many perspectives and opinions on how the war on drugs could be “won”, I will focus on two perspectives: drug criminalization and drug legalization. In a Human Rights lens, I will discuss the limitations and strengths of both methods. In the opinion of some and with hindsight the status quo regarding drugs requires reform in order to reverse the unintended consequences of drug prohibition. In the opinion of others criminalizing participants in the drug trade should be penalized under the law.

Today in our modern society, many people believe that teen’s develop a mindset of having a clean system and to stay drug free. However, people are not able to foresee that the drug use in America has rising up tremendously. Studies have shown that drugs can not only have impact on your life, but also have impact on those who surround you and also can led to the absence of adolescence. It leads to bad habits and only brings evil deeds. The possession of drugs and the conspiracy sell is illegal in the Unites States. If arrest and put on trial due to drugs can mean serious jail time. According to the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, people are considered to have a substance use disorder. (Live Science) The Live Science states “... people have strong urges to use a substance or can't control their use of it, or if their use impairs them in social situations or leads to risky behavior.” Members of society have needs when a drug is being in place into there normal day routine. The report also states that an estimated 27.1 million people in the U.S. used an illegal drug in the past month. (Live Science) The mass-production, sale and possession of illegal drugs should be banned in the United States.

It’s easy to lose track of the chaos that happens in the world on a day to day basis when your main priority is deciding what to eat for lunch tomorrow, or even dreading your next shift; yet we can turn on the news and hear about the most recent overdose and not even blink an eye. The blatant disregard for drug addicts today is at an ultimate high. In the past two years alone, more people have died from opiate addiction than they have in the entire Vietnam War. The fact that drug users are seen as lower class members of society as only aided in the increase of addiction and death, killing more Americans than HIV/AIDS did at its peak. Though the epidemic did not occur overnight, it has recently become one of America’s biggest health confrontations. Although there is no absolute solution, in order to decelerate the prevailing wave of usage and overdose/death, decriminalization in correlation to government funded programs could give ease to the definition of the word “epidemic”.