America's Opioid Crisis By Chris Mcgreal Summary

The United States of America has had a war against drugs since the 37th president, Richard Nixon, declared more crimination on drug abuse in June 1971. From mid-1990s to today, a crisis challenges the health department and government on opioid regulation, as millions of Americans die due overdoses of painkillers. Opioids are substances used as painkillers, and they range from prescription medications to the illegal drug, heroin. Abusing these substances can cause a dependency or addiction, which can lead to overdoses, physical damages, emotional trauma, and death. To ease the crisis, physicians are asked to depend on alternatives to pain management. Law enforcement cracks down on profiting drug-dealers and heroin abusers. People are warned against misusing opioids. The controversy begins for those who suffer from chronic pain, because they depend on opioids. There’s so a correlation to the 1980s cocaine epidemic, and people are upset over racial discrimination. Nonetheless, the best way to avoid this crisis is to recover the people at risk, reduce inappropriate opioid description, and have a proper response.

In the article, Oaklawn responds to opioid epidemic through a variety of treatment methods, Oaklawn shares how the opioid epidemic came to be and how they are geared to resolve the issue. The opioid epidemic started when physicians in the 1980’s, 90’s and 00’s thought that the only way to treat chronic pain was to keep giving their patients an increase in the pain medications. Physicians are now recognizing their mistake in doing this and are now working together to find a way to help people struggling with opioid addiction.

The opioid problem is big. The fact that multiple parties (FDA, Pharmacies, Doctors) are involved make the problem even more complex and difficult to fix. One of the best ways to begin helping the opioid crisis is within the FDA. The different types of opioids need to be re-tested to evaluate their necessity within our healthcare system. Too many readily available opioids are not beneficial. Next are doctors need to be taught to stand up again big pharmaceutical companies. These companies have their priority in profit, not patient care. Hopefully by implementing these factors, the opioid crisis can become a problem of the past.

Opioids crisis is a crucial topic that has been a long lasting conversation within healthcare. Opioids are an opiumlike compound that binds to one or more of the three opioid receptors of the body. In much similar terms opioids are a class of that involve everything from heroin to legal prescription pain relievers.

As a teen I have seen multiple teens recklessness and their parents trying their hardest to prevent their son and or daughter from using drugs, but their efforts keep failing. Everyday a mother wakes up to find her teenager deceased, everyday I live with void of not having my best friend due to her overdose. Each day that passes marks another day farther from the last time I got to see her. President Donald Trump early in his term issued a national emergency, the opioid crisis. The opioid crisis affects children as young as coming into this world and adults at any age. Google defines an opioid as “ an opium like compound that binds to one or more of the three opioid receptors of the body.” (Google) Despite the government and parent involvement

This article discusses a crisis endangering millions of lives. The opioid crisis is a rising issue and what does the health ministry do about it? They sign a health deal for 1.4 billion dollars to address the opioid crisis. “Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott says the funding agreement with B.C. includes $785 million for better home care and more than $650 million for mental-health initiatives.” In my opinion this is a constructive move towards better overall health. As the health minister said “We are taking an approach that will protect lives and protect the health of communities.” When the government invests in health the return on investment pays off. Having a healthier population free of opioids means higher productivity and a higher quality of life for all. This is a federal issue because it tackles a nation-wide problem that

To begin, Pennsylvania takes ‘all hands on deck’ approach to opioid crisis, is an article composed by Cesar Gamboa, a staff reporter and editor for Addiction Now, which focuses on the Pennsylvania state government’s response to a rising opioid abuse

After two decades, opioid uses have skyrocketed and is now labeled an opioid crisis. Recently, President Donald Trump declared it a national emergency. While United States have declared national emergencies before concerning H1N1 flu and Zika virus, the opioid crisis will have unique challenges. The current system is not equipped to handle the complexities presented by the opioid crisis. West Virginia State Health Officer Dr. Rahul Gupta said that opioid crisis is the worst health crisis to deal with since it “affects nearly every aspect of the social fabric: individuals struggle with addiction, grandparents have to raise children displaced by addiction, and courts are slammed with drug-related cases” (Meehan & Payne, 2017). Opioid use is a

Tennessee is one of the states hit hardest by the nation’s opioid epidemic which began about 20 years ago and had a stark increase since 2009, now reaching unprecedented levels across the county with a 200% increase in the rate of deaths involving opioids (Rudd, Aleshire, Zibbell, & Gladden, 2016; Fletcher, 2016). In Tennessee specifically, it is estimated that about 1 in 6 abuse opioids; the CDC estimates that for every one person who dies from an opioid overdose in Tennessee there are 851 others in the state who are in various stages of their abuse, misuse, and treatment; and the most recent statistics show that opioid overdoses alone make up about 7.7% of deaths in Tennessee, making them responsible for more deaths than car accidents in the state (Botticelli, 2016; Rudd, Aleshire, Zibbell, & Gladden, 2016; Fletcher, 2016; ONDCP, 2016; Thompson, 2016).

opioids are drugs formulated to replicate the pain-reducing properties of opium. The opioid crisis is the rapid increase in the use of prescription and non-prescription opioid drugs in the United States beginning in the late 1990s and continuing throughout following decades to come. Pharmaceutical companies reassured the medical community that patients would not become addicted to prescription opioid, therefore healthcare providers went ahead and prescribe them at greater rates. The potency and accessibility of these substances, despite their high risk of addiction and overdose, have made them popular both for medical and recreational purposes.

As the United States struggles to deal with what’s been called the worst drug crisis in American history, its veterans have also been caught up in the opioid epidemic. About 60 percent of those returning from deployments in the Middle East, and 50 percent of older veterans suffer from chronic pain, according to Veterans Affairs officials. That’s compared to about 30 percent of Americans nationwide.

The United States currently faces an unprecedented epidemic of opioid addiction. This includes painkillers, heroin, and other drugs made from the same base chemical. In the couple of years, approximately one out of twenty Americans reported misuse or abuse of prescriptions painkillers. Heroin abuse and overdoses are on the rise and are the leading cause of injury deaths, surpassing car accidents and gun shots. The current problem differs from the opioid addiction outbreaks of the past in that it is also predominant in the middle and affluent classes. Ultimately, anyone can be fighting a battle with addiction and it is important for family members and loved ones to know the signs. The cause for this epidemic is that the current spike of opioid abuse can be traced to two decades of increased prescription rates for painkillers by well-meaning physicians.

In Nolan and Amico’s article, “How Bad is the Opioid Epidemic?” they argue the opioid epidemic has become the worst drug crisis in American history. Heroin and other opioids overdose kill more than 47,055 people a year. Deaths caused from drug overdose has outnumber as much as 40 percent compared to the death caused from car crashes in 2014 (Nolan and Amico 3). Furthermore, in 1999 there were only 15000 people died from drug overdose. This number has tripled in 15 years. Also, in his article, “America’s Addiction to Opioids: Heroin and Prescription Drug Abuse” Volkow also presents the fact that “with an estimated 2.1 million people in the United States suffering from substance use disorders related to prescription opioid pain relievers in 2012 and an estimated 467,000 addicted to heroin. The consequences of this abuse have been devastating and are on the rise. For example, the number of unintentional overdose deaths from prescription pain relievers has

In America, the use of opioids is at an all time high, it has became such an issue nationwide, that it has became an epidemic. Because of the opioid epidemic, America is tearing apart, children all across the country are dying everyday, these children are dying from overdoses due to poisoning. The opioid problem is not just because of a person's decision to pick up a needle or a pill bottle, but it is because in the 1990’s doctors gave up on trying to treat patients for their overwhelming pain and discomfort, causing opioids to become over prescribed. Due to the carelessness of America, opioids are being distributed more and more everyday, causing the skyrocketing number of deaths.

Heroin…Cocaine…Marijuana. All these drugs are commonly associated with the infamous drug cartels of Mexico, Central, and South America. For historical context in the 1980s into the early 1990s, the crack-cocaine epidemic and the crime arising from drug use and drug-related violence became the cornerstone of a political era's national dialogue. The War on Drugs – the title. Tough on crime – the agenda. Now, the U.S. has faced the biggest drug addiction crisis in its history, the opioid epidemic, and it is not because of El Chapo but as a result of the rise in addictive prescription drugs flowing into hundreds of communities across the country. The opioid crisis is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans every year. The epidemic should be tackled by a common-sense solution: increased funding for treatment centers.