Drug Addiction Essay

Analysis: Opioids are a class of drug that are medically used as very effective painkillers, like fentanyl and morphine, however, they are highly addictive and produce a feeling of euphoria (“Opioids”). This combination leads do a lot of abuse and dependency, where people take more than prescribed in order to feel better. People start off taking the opioid painkillers in order to not feel pain as prescribed by their doctors. Then, they end up getting addicted to them. There are also illicit opioids, such as heroin, that are also highly addictive and also lead to dependency and death (“Opioids”). These illicit versions are taken for recreational reasons, and are also often mixed with other drugs. The combination of taking an unregulated drug in conjunction with other drugs leads to a lot of overdoses.

Teenage drug abuse is an issue that can result from a wide variety of social influences, stressful events, and mental disorders. Drug abuse among adolescents is a troubling issue because it decreases focus, increases the chance of consistency in behavior during adulthood, increases the chances of developing emotional issues, permanently damages the brain, and damages tissues in every system that can lead to death. Previous scientific research has identified that social factors, including the media and peers, play an important role in psychological development and impact the adolescent's decision to start experimenting with substances (Botvin 888). Appropriate solutions for the teenage drug abuse issue already exist, but the only remaining

The rate of death due to prescription drug abuse in the U.S. has escalated 313 percent over the past decade. According to the Congressional Quarterly Transcription’s article "Rep. Joe Pitt Holds a Hearing on Prescription Drug Abuse," opioid prescription drugs were involved in 16,650 overdose-caused deaths in 2010, accounting for more deaths than from overdoses of heroin and cocaine. Prescribed drugs or painkillers sometimes "condemn a patient to lifelong addiction," according to Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This problem not only affects the lives of those who overdose but it affects the communities as well due to the convenience of being able to find these items in drug stores and such.

After prolonged use, the body becomes physically reliant; the long-term effects of this addiction are synonymous with withdrawal symptoms. Opioid withdrawal is especially difficult since they moderate dopamine; once use is reduced or put to an end, the induced euphoria is as well, and the pleasure centers are often left impaired (Tigerin Peare and drugfreeworld.com). Additionally, one can suffer from restlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea, vomiting, and cold flashes, often coinciding with

The reason that this drug can be so intense and dangerous is because it falls into the category II narcotics. Many commonly known narcotics include opium, morphine, and heroin. The addiction rate of any of these drugs is phenomenal. Narcotics are central nervous system depressants that relieve pain without causing the loss of consciousness. They can also produce feelings drowsiness, mental confusion and euphoria. The analgesic effects of narcotics result from the drugs’ effects on the emotional aspects of pain. Many patients that experience intense pain say that after the administration of the narcotic, their pain is as intense as ever but no longer as bothersome. Because narcotics block the emotional side effects of pain they make it much more bearable.

Opiate addiction can cause many negative changes in the brain. This leads to the structure and functioning of the brain to perform lower than usual. As a result of constant consumption of the opiate medications, addicts lose most of their ability to cope with pain naturally without taking use of pain medication (Torres, 2014). This low tolerance of pain leads to the addict experiencing a higher level of pain since they consistently have high levels of opiates in their system (Torres, 2014). Opiates have the ability to produce withdrawal symptoms in a few hours after the last dose (Opiate Withdrawal Timelines, Symptoms and

The United States is currently in the grips of an opioid addiction epidemic, in fact, in 2014 drug overdoses became the number one cause of accidental death in the United States, beating out both car accidents and gun violence (Opioid Epidemic, 2016). Of those drug overdoses, 60% involved an opioid. An opioid is defined as natural or synthetic chemicals that bind to receptors in your brain or body (Kirby, 2016). Opioids are typically prescribed to address severe or long term pain. Although they do a lot of good, when misused they can have deleterious effects on the health of an individual and are highly addictive.

This allows an increase in feeling of relaxation and happiness rather than anxiety and depressed. OxyContin addiction not only will incline that chances of neglecting important relationships such as family, wife, husband, boyfriends. girlfriends and friends but it can also cause you to spend money that you cant afford to spend. This will cause the abuser to not only put themselves at risk but also their loved ones. With abusers, being dependent on a drug it can take over their lives, but it can also interfere with nerve and brain function. As the body quickly adapts to the dug that has been chewed, snorted or ingested, it develops a tolerance. This causes the user to need a higher dose for their body to function normally (2). Although the body quickly adapts to the drug, long-term and short-term effects begin to take effect. Short-term effects include the blockage of pain messages from being sent to the brain, this allows the user to stop from feeling any physical pain they may be in. Another short-term effect is it slows down not only the respiratory system but also the central nervous system, allowing the drowsy effect to take place. The positive effects of OxyContin are often the reason why people become addicted to the drug. As for long-term effects it may include the following, increased levels of tolerance, reparatory distress, physical dependence on the drug, and death

Although opioid withdrawal symptoms are not life-threatening, they can be very uncomfortable and painful. Additionally, some of these symptoms can lead to medical complications. For example, a patient who experiences nausea and vomiting can accidentally inhale vomit into their lungs. This is known as aspiration, and it can result in a specific type of pneumonia called aspiration pneumonia.

Opiates are often prescribed for pain and include drugs like Oxycontin, Vicodin, Methadone and Dilaudid. Although useful to treat pain, these drugs also can lead to addiction issues. Withdrawal effects occur when a person’s body is adjusting to no longer having opiates in its system. Opiate withdrawal can range from mild to severe. Factors impacting severity include how long a person was using opiates, what type of drug were being taken and at what dosage.

Heroin addicts have the psychological dependence on heroin that leads them into the state of self-destruction and the possibility of leading to death by the extreme use of heroin. Never estimate the poppy flower for its power that withholds the fiends to their mentality enduring the euphoria enslavement of the mind that contained for many centuries. The heroin addiction nation is a self numbing injection and dry approach to have the mind under the state of the greatest feeling of great happiness leaving the pain behind under the spell of heroin. Heroin comes in many forms for addicts to enjoy in their own way. They come in powder and rock like form that is combined with other narcotics. The snorting form for heroin is not

Opiate depen¬dence has the highest propensity for causing physical harm to the user, and societal harm through damage to family and social circles. Opiate dependence is not only associated with high mortality rates and poor health among dependent individuals, but also imposes excessively large economic and social costs upon the community including the costs of health care, social care, and crime. Considerable medical, legal, and interpersonal harm, including mortality, is associated with opiate use (Nutt et al., 2007).

Since it is an opiate, morphine is extremely addictive. When used under a physician's supervision in small amounts, morphine can generally be used safely. If it is used for a long time period or in large quantities, it can become addictive.

Prevention methods for substance abuse are taught to children as early in their kindergarten years and follow throughout their lifetime. Current programs available are school-based programs, parent and family, work programs and community and public media campaigns.

Substance abuse and addiction have become a social problem that afflicts millions of individuals and disrupts the lives of their families and friends. Just one example reveals the extent of the problem: in the United States each year, more women and men die of smoking related lung cancer than of colon, breast and prostate cancers combined (Kola & Kruszynski, 2010). In addition to the personal impact of so much illness and early death, there are dire social costs: huge expenses for medical and social services; millions of hours lost in the workplace; elevated rates of crime associated with illicit drugs; and scores of children who are damaged by their parents’ substance abuse behavior (Lee, 2010). This paper will look at