Opiate Addiction Research Paper

Opiate overdose may cause significant failure to health, physical distress, breathing damage and increase mortality and morbidity. Vitamin D deficiency causes muscle aches, periodontal disease, osteomalacia and osteoporosis [6-10]. Low bone mass has also been reported in opioid-dependent individuals

The source describes the opioid overdose epidemic across the U.S. as a significant issue possibly deriving from economic stress, social isolation, and over-prescribing pain relievers. Action must be taken to help and prevent dependency on opioids in order to stop this rapid rate of overdose throughout America. Proper education is vital for younger and elder generations to know how to prevent opioid dependency.

Incarceration of individuals is rapidly rising and the “war on drugs” has targeted opioid addicted users with no other ways of treatment other than jail time. Opioids are widely used for people with legitimate problems and they're easy accessibility is making it possible for people of all ages and race to get a hold of. The crisis of opioid epidemic is only getting bigger along with the jail population. Anything from Xanax to Codeine can be easily attainable for the purposes of getting high. Another that is illegal however is heroin. Anyone and their addiction to opiates can lead them to being incarcerated possibly in the future. And this is a problem that needs to be addressed because these our the next generations we are talking about.

Did you know that 91 Americans die every day due to an Opioid overdose and yet American’s still report no relief of pain? Since 1999 the number of deaths due to prescriptions opioid or heroin overdose has quadrupled (http://www.cdc.gov). Four out of five Americans turned to the black market for heroin, which initially started as an opioid drug addiction. It is an American crisis, due to the number of individuals that consume oxycodone, which accounts for eight-one percent of Americans (http://www.drugabuse.gov).

If you have been working in EMS for longer than a week you will probably already know the epidemic that America is facing. The epidemic that I am referring to has no discrimination and anyone can fall victim to it. If it hasn't already destroyed your family in some way then you are one of the lucky few.

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are focusing on five different things to change this: improving access to treatment and recovery services, promoting use of overdose-reversing drugs, strengthening our understanding of the epidemic through better public health surveillance, providing support for cutting-edge research on pain and addiction, and lastly, advancing better practices for pain management.(National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2018, Opioid Overdose Crisis, P5.). There is no way to completely stop the opioid crisis but if we can make the numbers of people who overdose a year, then we can slowly make a huge change in the world of opioids. If these prescription drugs become more limited to people then they won't have access to buy off the streets or steal

The word “epidemic” itself spreads fear throughout society, however fluctuations in drug use are considered epidemics, which may not instill fear into the general public. Due to the fact that the CDC considers opioid overdose as a national epidemic, it may be confused to what this “epidemic” entails. This is not saying that the misuse and rising overdoses due to opioid painkillers is not a serious problem, it just may render the severity of the problem. In addition, because the CDC does consider the rise of overdoses due to painkillers an epidemic, the access to treatment needs to be more widely available. Through one of the interactions I had during my time at the NA meeting, I was able to understand that many people feel as though they do not or did not have access to help. Dan Mangan (2016), writes, “[a] survey released Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation also found that a large majority of Americans believe that lack of access to care for people suffering from substance abuse is a problem in the United States.” In this, those who work in medicine should take from my supporting observations and numerous studies’ that access to recovery programs need to become more widely available. If the United States is going to consider the use of opioid painkillers as an epidemic, action needs to be taken to assist addicts and educate the nation on the effects of these

Opioid abuse is a growing epidemic within the United States. Not only are people abusing the prescription forms of opioids (such as oxycodone - OxyContin, hydrocodone - Vicodin, codeine, and morphine) by taking more than they are supposed to, but they are also being bought, sold, and used on the streets illegally; such as heroin. Opioids are highly addicting because of the high they can induce in a person, causing a dependence and yearning for continued use (NIDA, n.d.) In 2007, the United States was responsible for over 99 percent of the global consumption of hydrocodone and 83 percent of the global consumption of oxycodone (United Nations Publications, 2009).

Prescription drugs are given to patients daily all over the world. Opioid painkillers are known to provide pain relief, but there seems to be an excessive amount of death and injuries because, more than ever, they are highly marketed and incorrectly prescribed. More than 2 million of Americans are dependent or abuse prescription pain pills (Opioid Crisis…). Worldwide nearly 26.4 million people abuse opioids (Public Affairs). It’s not just an issue in the United States but is becoming a worldwide crisis. The issue is known as the opioid epidemic. This is the question that is being asked: What are the factors of prescription opioids in the United States?

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.

The social problem I chose to do something about is opiate abuse/addiction. Opiates are naturally occurring narcotics, such as opium and opium derivatives, including morphine, codeine, and heroin. Prescription painkillers are opioid analgesics. Opiates are highly addictive and dangerous when misused. This social problem matters to me because I am a recovering opiate addict. I have been clean for four months and my new found passion is educating people about the dangers of opiates. People assume because doctors prescribe opioid analgesics, they must be safe. Opiate abuse matters to society because when opiates are misused, lives are taken. People die from overdose, abusers’ worlds fall apart because of their addiction, and loved ones of the abusers are left grieving and feeling helpless.

From teenagers to adults, many are suffering with an opioid addiction. The opioid crisis that has struck, has taken a significantly large amount of lives. There were about “...50,000 [ opioid ] overdose deaths...in 2015-roughly equivalent to the number of Americans lost in the Vietnam War”(Price). All these friends and family members are dying because of something that can be controlled and even avoided. Although there are some who believe that the programs that are enacted to help with this sort of addiction are very effective, the truth is they are not as effective as people let on to believe. There should be a more enforced and regulated limit for those with a stronger prescription drug in order to lower the overdose count, over prescription from doctors, and pill shopping.

The problem with opioids as a sole source of relief is that not only are they physically and psychologically addictive, but the user also begins to build a tolerance to the therapeutic effects. Eventually one requires higher doses in order to achieve the initial levels of pain relief. As the dose increases, so does the level of dependency and addiction. If a doctor refuses to increase the dose for the patient’s safety, the pain returns and patient may begin to feel the effects of opiate withdrawal. In worst-case scenarios people begin to abuse alcohol or seek out prescription pain medication illegally. Illicit and less expensive street drugs are often sought out if the afflicted can no longer afford their medications or cannot find a source of pain and addiction relief anywhere else. Purchase of street drugs becomes common when addiction begins to affect someone’s ability to keep a steady source of income. As a result, there has been a surge of opioid, heroin, and alcohol abuse and eventual overdose. (Dart, et al., 2015)

Since the 19th century the United States has struggled with the control of opioids and how to properly treat the people who become dependent on them. By the 1980s studied revealed that the potential of drug dependence, also known as iatrogenic addiction, was relatively low for patients who were prescribed opiates for treatment (Beauchamp, 2014, p. 2023) - In the mid 1990s, Perdue Pharma introduced OxyContin, a Schedule II prescription opioid analgesic, to the pharmaceutical market (Boerner, 2016, p. 20). Since the release of OxyContin, a substantial number of Americans have been prescribed opiates for medical treatment. Society’s view on prescription opiate use has slowly shifted from being a normative treatment method recommended by healthcare professionals, to being viewed as deviant. Prescription opioids have played a large role in increased rates of incarceration, fatal and non-fatal opiate overdose, transitions to illicit drugs and HIV infection in the United States (Boerner, 2016, p. 21). Prescription opiate use is seen as deviant when the drug is misused for non-medical purposes.

People who are addicted to opioids experience negative mental and physical effects that include nausea, weakened immune system, a lowered breathing rate and worst case, coma (Prashad 2017). Since opioid effects the immune system, individuals have an increased risk of developing HIV or any infectious deadly disease. The risk does not end there, effects of opioids also includes, hallucinations, clogged blood vessels and the risk of choking (Prashad 2017). Having a child, parent, friend or any loved one that is addicted to opioids have many affects. Parents who have an opioid addict child, may feel as they were the reason for their addiction. Parents might feel guilt by thinking their lifestyle at home was the main trigger for wanting to take