Relevance To Health Policy Paper

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

Opioid addiction is so prevalent in the healthcare system because of the countless number of hospital patients being treated for chronic pain. While opioid analgesics have beneficial painkilling properties, they also yield detrimental dependence and addiction. There is a legitimate need for the health care system to provide powerful medications because prolonged pain limits activities of daily living, work productivity, quality of life, etc. (Taylor, 2015). Patients need to receive appropriate pain treatment, however, opioids need to be prescribed after careful consideration of the benefits and risks.

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 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

Various levels of governments in different communities across North America have initiated programs to deal with the opioid epidemic and its effect. Some of these initiatives will be examined in more details below.

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.

Mike Alstott knows first-hand how opioids, when used correctly, can play an important role in managing pain and helping people to function, but he is also keenly aware of the growing crisis of opioid misuse and overdose. More American adults are dying from misusing prescription narcotics than ever before. An estimated 35 people die every day in the U.S. from accidental prescription painkiller overdoses resulting from things like not taking a medication as directed or not understanding how multiple

Specific purpose: To inform my audience about the growing problem of prescription drug abuse, some common drugs that cause abuse, and their effects and some common treatments.

Prescription opioid abuse not only affects the abusers, but it also affects the families of abusers. An example of this is a women named Erin Daly. She wrote a personal narrative story about her experience after her teenage brother overdosed on opioids. Erin gave up her career as a legal reporter to research for an answer on why opioid addiction is becoming a widespread problem in adolescents and young adults. Finally, Erin got ahold of her brother’s journal and saw how his problem that started with gateway drugs, then to prescription opioids from the street, and ended in a lethal overdose of IV heroine. Erin Daly wrote, “ In 2011, 4.2 million Americans ages 12 or older reported using heroin at least once in their lives, and like my brother,

Opioids are painkillers, such as—morphine, methadone, Buprenorphine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone ("What drugs are opioids?"). The opioid crisis is a national crisis that has caused 250,000 fatalities from 2000 to 2014. This crisis is a torrent of painkillers, black-market synthetic versions and heroin. A report from a federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration shows more adults use prescription painkillers than cigarettes. Many experts have compared this crisis to the IIIV and AIDS epidemics because it has caused citizens to be cautious. Opioids have been a major discussions topic, which has caused many officials to brain-storm ways to prevent further complications.

As we all have researched and found out the devastating numbers to the opioid epidemic “the abuse of prescription and non-prescription opioids is one of the greatest threats facing public health in the United States today. It is estimated that as many as 2.5 million people in the US are suffering from opioid addiction related to prescriptions, and an additional 467,000 are addicted to heroin”(2017).

So our goal in this research paper is to figure out why are we in a opioid crisis and what has caused it? How does the opioid crisis correlate with interoperability? Additionally, we will cover some statistics regarding the crisis of opioids. Finally, what can be done to lessen the problem and potentially fix it completely.

Opioids abuse is becoming a serious problem among the youth and those it is prescribed to. Sixty three percent of drug overdoses in the year 2015 were due to opioid abuse. There is help for those who are addicted to opioids such as behavioral health and medications, but most don’t have access to it. There have been efforts by the Department of Health and Human Services to provide grants to areas where the medications and therapy are not as accessible compared to other communities. In addition to this effort granting additional providers the

There is extensive educational programing being offered around the world, and within the education classes they encourage all health care facility to attend as well as their patients who are coping with chronic pain controlled by the opioid medication. Most reported cases of substance abuse and addiction are associated with opioids and are linked to an individual’s behavior. Another method that is used to help the patient with opioid addiction and abuse is behavioral therapy. During the therapy there is close monitoring and cognitive behavioral substance misuse counseling make the chances of overall compliance greater.

Drug use in America is one of the major issues we face and the problem has skyrocketed over the past three decades. Heroin and painkiller addictions exceed all other countries. It is important that we address some of the causes that lead to the abuse, how to treat the abuse, and how to prevent the distribution of illegal prescription drugs.