Are Drug Abusers a Cause Worth Fighting For?

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.

One profound way of combatting drug usage is to continue educating the youth and public on the fatal risks of utilizing drugs. Another aspect that the film did not touch upon is the drug policies and issues in other countries. Most of the world’s narcotic painkiller market is based in the United States, so there could be stronger laws introduced to limit who is able to access these strong pills. Moreover, countries such as Spain, have legalized most drugs, and have since seen a decrease in the usage of these drugs. These measures could be applied in the United States, and the black market where profit is made on these drugs would dissipate. Furthermore, these substances could be highly taxed like cigarettes, and made limited so that they become less accessible to the public. While recovery is a lifelong process for those already addicted, America can save the lives of tomorrow by getting the drugs out of the hands of first time

Maia Szalavitz, author of Unbroken Brain, points out in an article about our finger-pointing mentality on drug abuse, “Addiction is one of the most serious health problems we face today, and as of 2010, more than 23 million people have an addiction to drugs, and according to the National Institutes of Health, these addictions contribute to more than 100,000 deaths per year.” Drug abuse is a major problem in the United States and throughout the world as more and more people become addicted every day. When you hear the words drug addict you think of desensitizing terms, like “junkie” or “crack head,” and when you see someone panhandling for money on the street, passed out, or swaying in a doorway you likely wonder, “why don’t they just get

Dr. Perry Kendall’s stated in a report that the mortality rate for people in opioid substitution treatment is about half of what it is for those using street heroin. (“globeandmail”) Another doctor, who has been administering the program as part of his family practice for several years states the rate of success is poor, the nature of the work often frustrating and the paperwork required under new rules is daunting. But the reward is the amazing transformation of those who are helped by methadone, says Dr. Jeff White. (“thetelegram”) Equally, a confident experience is expressed from a recovering addict himself, Jared stated to a Newfoundland based newspaper, The Compass that the methadone program had a super positive impact on his life. Going on to say in a separate interview with The Advertiser, that the first year everything went as well as it could have with him not doing any drugs. (“Advertiser”) This is just a few examples on how the methadone program has continued to play a positive impact on lives when given the

I decided to write about a current issue involving the usage of Naloxone. There has been a debate going on for quite some time, about if all recue responders should carry Naloxone and administer it to people who have overdosed. Naloxone is described as a drug like morphine or fentanyl, that can cause an opposite effect of an opiate. It is either given by an injection or it can be done by a nasal spray. People debate that by administering this drug to someone who has overdosed is allowing them to go the extremes of usage and that nothing is being done about treating the individual’s addiction. DRUGABUSE.COM reported that there is an estimated 78 deaths a day, caused by the opioid epidemic. Which has led President Trump to recognize the severity of this epidemic, and push for more usage of the Naloxone. In hopes

Bruce Brandler is a man who lost his son to heroin. Brandler says in an article by the Los Angeles Times, “I want to evaporate the myth that heroin addicts are just homeless derelicts, this epidemic hit’s everyone… I think my situation exemplifies that.”. I think what Brandler meant by this is many people have a certain image in their minds when they think about heroin addicts. This image is often wrong simply because heroin addicts are now the people right in front of us. When society expects all addicts to fit one description it often overlooks those that need

It’s a national emergency. We’re going to spend a lot of time, a lot of effort and a lot of money on the opioid crisis,”. Much effort and study will be necessary to help curb the growing pandemic which can affect every American who has ever had, or will have a condition which necessitates them to take prescription painkillers. It’s a widespread and very legitimate problem, and each one of us must “swallow the pill” and admit- we are all just one injury away from being potentially addicted

Here in America, there is an ongoing tragedy ceaselessly unfolding right before our eyes. Beyond the calamities of gun violence, the loss of innocent lives through ruthless crimes and deadly motor vehicle accidents, there is a crisis occurring in the very homes of many Americans. There is a proceeding addiction to the pill bottles hidden behind bathroom mirrors, needles poking through the surface of fragile skin to get a “fix”, and prescriptions being written left and right with the intention to help but the potential to kill. Here in America, over 115 people die every single day from overdosing on opioids and this is a reality that has been nothing short of deadly since as early as 1990.

Companies promised that opioids presented no risk of addiction and soon the rates at which they were prescribed escalated (NIDA). The prescription and sale of opiates has increased by four times, following this portrayal (CDC). It soon became clear, after widespread misuse of prescription narcotics, that they indeed had addictive qualities (NIDA, 2018). Now that addiction is known to be a risk, the portrayal of prescription opioids needs to change. The medical community must portray the reality of taking opioids, to help patients better understand the dangers that come with taking

Opioids have been banned in the United States for over 100 years, yet they still are commonly found on the streets in large part because of failed rehabilitation. Law enforcement finds themselves on the front lines of the epidemic commonly dealing with overdoses. It is a difficult tragedy to witness and they happen every day. Society looks to law enforcement for answers so how can law enforcement stop this crisis? Is there an end-all solution to the problem? The solution could be found in the roots of community policing. Responding with Naloxone is only a temporary solution that will never get to the root of the problem. It is the officer’s responsibility to know their beats, know the people who live in them and offer support to better their communities. The police role has come a long way from the crime fighter image. Simply putting users behind bars will not be a solution to this problem. Police departments must be educated on the available resources to get help and offer assistance so those that need the help can get it. As community ambassadors, law enforcement can make the biggest difference to the opioid epidemic if they properly employ the tools their community has given

He discusses the role of government during the 1920’s. The Harrison Act (pg. 110) was passed by government making it harder to fill prescriptions of opiates and morphine. In the 1950’s officials seemed to realize the need for watching addicted-physicians, pillagers and people shopping for doctors to supply the opiates, however no consideration was given to people addicted with chronic or terminal illnesses. Bureau official devised record-keeping of medical and non-medical addicts. Eventually doctors had access to barbiturates, tranquilizers, and amphetamines so these we prescribed after the opiate addiction was coming to the fore (pg. 146). In the 1990’s OxyContin came on the scene. Cicero and Ellis (2015) discuss the ease of abusing this drug in the article Abuse-deterrent formulations and the prescription opioid abuse epidemic in the united states: Lessons learned from OxyContin. The drug was the first to be reformulated to make it hard to abuse in 2010. However, survey studies suggest that the drug-seeking behavior may have just switched to other drug choices (Vol.72 5). As pharmaceutical companies scrambled to find ways to change the formulation of these highly addictive drugs, the death rates were climbing. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) shared the startling statistics in the published reports they released entitled: Drug-poisoning

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

Both locally and nationally, the opioid and heroin epidemic is greatly affecting communities everywhere. People should care about this epidemic because it is changing the way you live more than you think. As drug use increases, the average income decreases, as that person can no longer hold a job. Opioid addicts cause psychological problems, which doesn’t only affect the person with the illness, but communities as a whole, as often times they no longer keep up with personal hygiene, or function as well as a healthy individual. Drug abuse also affects the child of the user. Children of drug abusers are more likely to become users in their futures, becoming a never ending

In today’s society, there is a growing opioid epidemic. Many teens are abusing every day medicines such as depressants, stimulants and painkillers. Most teens also have an addiction for heroin. In the article, it talks about how over the counter drugs are misused by Americans aged 14 years or older. when it comes to drug abuse the number of casualties have grown exponentially. I learned that in 2012 to 2013 there was an increase of 39% of heroin related deaths. Most first time users are Caucasians. In addition, Heroin users first abuse prescription painkillers such as opioid painkillers. When it comes to teens, they choose cheaper methods of drugs because heroin is a lot cheaper then prescription pills. Heroin by its self is horrible enough,

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).