Opioid-Related Overdose Analysis

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

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

The opioid crisis is not just now becoming an issue, but recent numbers of overdoses are raising even more concern and attention. The issue is with how citizens deal with the crisis because opioids are finding their way into the wrong hands. The crisis is so severe that “everyday more than 90 people die overdosing on opioids” (“Opioids”). That number will only grow if nothing is done to stop people from overdosing. The entire opioid crisis started from patients misusing opioid medicines. In the year 2015 alone “33,000 Americans died from opioid overdose” (“Opioid”). So many Americans fall victim to opioids and they can become extremely addicting. Once a patient's body is exposed to opium, the body will then adjust to needin opium by the larger quantity and patients will soon take more and more causing an overdose. Unfortunately, synthetic drugs are on the rise (Katz). Fentanyl is a prime example of a synthetic drug that is taking over America by storm. It can be mass produced in a

Last year there were over 64,000 reported opioid-related deaths in the United States – making it the leading cause of accidental death in people under the age of 50 in this country (Katz). Opioids, also referred to as painkillers, have become a growing problem over the past two decades particularly in rural communities all across the country where the death rates are higher per capita compared to the death rate in cities (“America’s Opioid Epidemic is Worsening”). These narcotics, such as codeine, fentanyl, hydrocodone, morphine and oxycodone are extremely addictive and, as a result, this silent killer has quadrupled the overdose death toll since 1999

Opioid drugs are some of the most widespread pain medications that we have in this country; indeed, the fact is that opioid analgesic prescriptions have increased by over 300% from 1999 to 2010 (Mitch 989). Consequently, the number of deaths from overdose increased from 4000 to 16,600 a year in the same time frame (Mitch 989). This fact becomes even more frightening when you think about today; the annual number of fatal drug overdoses in the Unites States now surpasses that of motor vehicle deaths (Alexander 1865). Even worse, overdose deaths caused by opioids specifically exceed those attributed to both cocaine and heroin combined (Alexander 1865).

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 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.

There is no question that the alarming rate of deaths related to opioid overdose needs to be addressed in this county, but the way to solve the problem seems to remain a trial and error approach at this point. A patient is injured, undergoes surgery, experiences normal wear and tear on a hip, knee or back and has to live with that pain for the rest of their life or take a narcotic pain medication in order to improve their quality of life and at least be able to move. The above patients are what narcotic pain medications were created for, a population of people that use narcotic pain medications for fun is what is creating a problem. Narcotics are addictive to both populations, however taking the narcotic for euphoric reasons is not the intention of the prescription that the physician is writing. The healthcare system needs to find a way to continue to provide patients that experience chronic pain with the narcotics that work for them while attempting to ensure the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) doesn’t have to worry about a flood of pain pills hitting the streets by granting access to the population with a substance abuse problem.

Narcotics have long been a plague of our society. Abused substances range from basement made concoctions of unknown origin and up to prescription medication abuse. Fentanyl, an opioid drug, is a recent addition to addicts’ portfolio and it is extremely dangerous.

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.

Opioids are killing Americans throughout the world and also decreasing their lifespans overall. According to a medical report from JAMA Opioids take about 3 months off of our lives. In 2015 life expectancy in the US decreased since the year 1993. Deaths from drug overdose continue to get higher and according to The Center for Disease control there were 64,000 deaths from a drug overdose in 2016. The amount of deaths related to Opioid’s has multiplied by four since 1999. One of the main causes for opioid overdose deaths has been from heroin and fentanyl. According to the CDC Fentanyl is the number one cause of opioid overdose. (CNN)

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

Once more, the lives of Canadians are being claimed by addiction and overdose of a new drug in the streets. For those of you who don’t know what fentanyl is, it’s a powerful opioid, 100 times stronger than morphine, that is often prescribed to help patients manage moderate to severe pain. As a highly addictive substance, many are now dependent on it, and it is one of the most frequent causes of drug overdose. Readily available for purchase online are quantities of pure fentanyl from China, but when improperly diluted in clandestine labs, it can lead to an immediate overdose. Recently, an antidote for opioid overdose called naloxone has become available without prescription, so that anyone can use it. Fentanyl has become a severe problem in the past few years, and while we yet to find a way to eliminate dependence on this drug, we must keep those who use it safe.

Opioid abuse has become so widespread in Baltimore that on March 1, 2017, the governor of Maryland, Larry Hogan, declared a state of emergency. The rise in the number of opioid-related overdoses in the Baltimore have skyrocketed in the past few years. According to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 1089 people, a majority from Baltimore, died of a fentanyl overdose in 2015. In 2016, the number rose to 1856 deaths. (Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene 14). The spike in overdose deaths can be contributed to the increased use of Fentanyl. Fentanyl is 50 times more potent and costs less than a third of heroin (Adwanikar; Duncan). Drug dealers mix fentanyl with heroin to make their product less expensive to produce

Though there are many unsafe drugs available for purchase in the United States, Fentanyl is thought to be the most dangerous. Fentanyl is an opioid that is used in cases where patients are in severe pain or require surgical anesthetic. It is the most widely used synthetic opioid medication in the world and is far stronger than most opioid’s. While Fentanyl can be a safe medication when monitored, it can have fatal effects if abused recreationally. The popularity of the drug, the fact that is much stronger than other opioids, and how it can be easily laced with other drugs are what make it so dangerous.