Opioid Abuse Claim

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

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.

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

In the last two decades, opioid addiction started affecting more and more Americans. But who is at fault for this epidemic? The pharmaceutical companies. They make and distribute their drugs to doctors and pharmacies and are making billions off the American worker’s dollar. All while, lying to doctors about these miracle drugs effectiveness and advocating against protective measures for the drugs.

Opioids are taking over the United States with its addictive composition, once patients are take opioids there is no escaping. The drug directed from opium which is obtained from a plant (Katz). Opioids are most commonly found in prescription pill from making underground sales more common. Since opioids are derived from a plant this makes the reality of home grown drugs more of an issue. American citizens overdosing on opioids is what is sparking the crisis because opioid “overdoses killed more people last year than guns or car accidents” (Katz). Opioids are extremely addictive and that is why so many citizens overdose on these types of drugs. After patients become hooked on opioids their body constantly is needing more and more opium to escape they pain they think they are enduring. The overdosing of Americans is not a small percentage of the population either, it is estimated that “over two million people in America have problem with opioids” proving this growing issue is an ongoing crisis (Katz). The United States government needs to take action immediately to the opioid crisis because doctors are overprescribing patients because they seemingly overreact to pain, and opioids are one of the most addictive drug types in the world.

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

The overdose count has been increasing over the years at an alarming rate. Statistics show that overdose is now more fatal than it was anticipated. In a news conference during September, Secretary Tom Price, brings up the topic of opioid abuse and he mentions that not only were there more than 50,000 deaths due to opioids, but it also made it by far the highest numbered gathered between 2002 and 2013(Price). It is a major deal that many people have lost their lives, and many more will continue losing their lives if the government doesn’t find a way to control this outbreak. Now there is starting to be a noticeable difference in overdoses since as stated in the LA Times “Death from opioid

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.

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5, opioid use disorder (OUD) is characterized by patterns of opioid use that are problematic and persist for at least one year (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Evidence of problematic use of opioid is demonstrated through the presence of at least 2 symptoms which include withdrawal, craving, and continued use of opioids despite the disruptions it causes in personal and professional life. The substances used by persons with OUD are heroin and nonmedical pain relievers ([NMPR]; i.e. nonmedical use of opioid pain relievers), and estimates for DSM-5-defined OUD tend to combine the prevalence of use for each of these substances to determine overall

Sweeping the nation on a mass caliber is the opioid crisis. Stories have been depicted by every news channel across the nation on the crisis that has destroyed countless individuals lives. According Alanna Semuels's article, "Are Pharmaceutical Companies to Blame for the Opioid Epidemic?", she reports the fault of the calamity. Semuels points out that the perpetrator of this utterly horrendous plague is the doctors who have over-prescribed medication, as well as the pharmaceutical industry. This crisis has been slowly evolving over the past decades but is only now making its way into the mainstream media headlines. The pharmaceutical industry has been steadily infiltrated its' way into all arrangements of healthcare in the sole pursuit of gaining

If you watch the news it should come as no surprise that drug abuse and overdoses have increased dramatically in the United States. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, as many as 36 million people abuse opioids throughout the world with 2.1 million in the U.S. who currently suffer from opioid abuse disorders (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2014). These astonishing numbers are only marginalized when comparing them to opioid related deaths in the United States. With an increase of 137 percent since 2000, deaths from drug overdoses now occur 1.5 times more often than deaths from motor vehicle accidents (Rudd Aleshire, Zibbell & Gladden, 2016). The opioid epidemic in the

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.

In the article, “Don’t blame addicts for America’s opioid crisis. Here are the real culprits” by Chris McGreal, America’s widespread opioid problem is discussed. Primarily, McGreal points the finger at multiple sources such as the FDA, pharmaceutical companies, and the government for aggravating the opioid problem. According to the author, “America’s opioid crisis was caused by rapacious pharma companies, politicians who colluded with them and regulators who approved one opioid pill after another” (McGreal). However, McGreal believes that there are multiple causes for the deadly opioid epidemic that exists today. Next, McGreal states that money is one of the main reasons for the epidemic of opioids. The author asserts that patients are given

Following the guidelines by policymakers and the CDC to limit prescription of opioid medications, there have been numerous instances that highlight the pharmaceutical industry’s role in propagating initiatives that are contrary to these guidelines hence thwarting the fight against opioid abuse (Bement et al., 2014). The opioid pharmaceutical market is worth about $ 10 billion in sales annually which explains why the pharmaceutical industry would be reluctant in joining the fight against opioid abuse. The pharmaceutical industry perceives the fight against opioid use as a setback. As a result, the industry is constantly looking for measures to earn more profits by aggressively expanding the market for more drugs that are related to opioid use such that the answer to opioid addiction is to use more pills. The pharmaceutical industry is aggressively manufacturing alternative drugs to treat the side-effects of opioid use like constipation. Historically, the pharmaceutical industry has been accused of providing misleading information concerning the addictive features of some opioid medications which further frustrates the initiatives to stop opioid abuse since the addiction levels will be high for

Opioid overuse, is one of the major overuse of analgesic problem that is addressed by the CMS in the part D drug benefit program. This is an example of unnecessary drug use and its financial impact on health economy. Opioids are considered the top most highly used therapeutic class of drug among part D beneficiaries that accounts for 5 percent of total spending and quantity covered under Medicare part D program (Medicare Payment Advisory Commission). It is estimated that in 2012, nearly 12.3 million or 36 percent of part D enrollees were asked to prescribe opioid in at least one prescription. Therefore spending on abused opioids rise from $1.5 billion to $3.9 billion from 2006 to 2014, showing 156 percent of increase in the spending (HHS Office