On Friday February 10, 2017, Kentucky Emergency Services responded to fifty-two calls that had come in regarding people overdosing on heroin. This calls started to heavily come in in about people overdosing beginning at midnight, through eight in the morning. In the past week, the Louisville emergency spokesman, Mitchel Burmeister, stated that there had been twenty-five reported overdoses from the same drug in a thirty-two hour span the week before. In the past few years, we have seen the number of drug users spike drastically. This could be due to the fact that access that people have to these drugs and how normal the use of some drugs has become for society, such as marijuana. As most people know, the use of marijuana for medical …show more content…
I believe that more and more people are turning to drugs and alcohol to deal with difficult times that are happening in their personal lives and what is happening in the world as a whole. Marijuana has become a substance that is more common for recreational use and people are feeling the urge to demonstrate their deviance in other ways. This is becoming more common among the teenagers in todays society. Experimentation is something that the youth has always felt the need to participate in and trying the “new and cool” substance is the way to go to fulfill this idea. Teenagers want to rebel against their parents and the laws, regardless of the effect that it my have on them and the backlash that may come along with it medically and personally. Although the article did not state the ages of the individuals that were involved with the overdose incident, I would think that a large number of them were young, vulnerable citizens of society. This article, I would hope, will bring awareness to society that hard drugs can have a serious impact on not only your health, but the people that surround, like your family and friends, and that they would never want to get the phone call that you are in the hospital because you overdosed in an act of rebelling and being deviant towards society. I
Beyond the year 1985 to present the Food and Drugs Administration have been approving, administering and withdrawing drugs from pharmacies that have had death threating side effects among us; these side effects have led to injuries, death and major surgeries that have been affecting hundred thousands of individuals worldwide. There are over 100 drugs being issued among us year by year that would be considered a “dangerous drug”. Dangerous prescription drugs have been continuously manufactured year by year while we have no idea of the discomfort and unbearable diseases they may cause.
The uses of marijuana amongst teenagers has increased over the years making it the most accessible drug in America as well as one the most beneficial due to its medical uses. According to the article of Marijuana Use Among Youths Is a Serious Problem, written by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA) (2004), stated that the uses of marijuana has impacted the youth in many ways due to the unknown factors of marijuana such as admittance to treatment facilities, and being admitted into emergency rooms. The CASA took the con side of the argument dealing with the issues of marijuana use with teenagers. The second article Marijuana Should Be
Prescription drug abuse and overdose-related deaths have reached an epidemic level in the United States and are an urgent public health concern. To combat this opioid crisis, in 2016 Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) was signed into law. CARA authorizes grants to increase access to treatment services and opioid reversal drugs such as Naloxone, strengthen the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP), expand prevention and educational efforts. In spite of the extensive range of activities authorized by CARA to control this epidemic, the US has experienced an increase in the number of the opioid overdose-related emergency visit from 2016 to September 2017. Therefore, after considering the policy options to reform this act, the most apropos solution would be the universal mandate of PDMP use. Mandating PDMPs can reduce prescription overdose and misuse of opioids. In order to ensure the impact of this program, PDMPs will have to be implemented on a Federal level. This will essentially make sure that all states taking part in the program are responsible for keeping track of registered physicians and dispensers under the Prescription
A controversial subject many Americans are constantly at battle over is legalizing drugs. Some experts have the opinion that drugs should be legalized for medical treatment, and for help with severe illness. Other experts argue that this will have a bad effect due to overdosing and addiction, and also the adverse affect on teens. I do not think that drugs should be legalized but they should allow people with serious medical conditions to use these illegal drugs. Legalizing drugs would only create and even bigger drug abuse situation, and especially for juveniles. Legalizing drugs would also create the question of what to do with criminals who are already incarcerated for this offense. There are surveys, which give statistics on crime, and how crime rates are affected by the use of drugs. For example, there is one survey called the “National
The systematic scheduling of drugs in the United States is arbitrary which leads to a discriminative social injustice. Some psychedelic substances such as Psilocybin are schedule 1 drugs, while alcohol and nicotine are legal. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) both alcohol and nicotine are proven to be harmful and addictive (2017). Conversely, Psychedelic substances have not been proven to be addictive. This equates to a social injustice that discriminates over someone who may prefer the effects of psilocybin to nicotine, even under the science that has shown nicotine and alcohol have a higher potential for abuse. Unfortunately, many political factors come into play regarding the legal status of drugs and industries such as the pharmaceutical, tobacco and alcohol industries, who harbor the most money and have an influence in the legality of drugs whether they are safe or not. While legalizing psychedelic substances would most likely cut into profits for these large industries they would bring about economic benefits as well.
“In 2002, 404,000 people used heroin in the United States. By 2016, there were 948,000 people. This is a 135% increases in the past 14 years” (Kounang). I decided to research about heroin, because I want to know what heroin is and which celebrities have done it and survived or died. I knew it was an addictive drug that many people overdose on. There was a lot of misconceptions that I had about heroin. Originally I thought heroin users become addicted instantly. I still have some questions about heroin. Why is heroin so popular? Who has done it? Even though some people think heroin is not bad, people should not take heroin because it's a highly effective drug and tons of people are dying from overdosing.
A survey by the Home Office (2015) have found that in 2014, 16.3% teens have used cannabis which is higher as compared to 2013 when ratio was 15.1% but lower than that in 1996 when ratio was 25.8%. It has assumed that drug
Even though people need their prescriptions, the abuse of them is getting out of control and we need to find a way to regulate it better,because it can destroy a family, cause some to become addicted, or even kill them. Prescription drugs are no joke, they can be worse than illegal drugs like marijuana, cocaine, and even heroin. The only difference is a doctor can prescribe these types of drugs. The problem we run into with prescription drugs is there is not enough being done to keep the person from becoming addicted or them selling to others. In 2007 2.5 million Americans abused just painkillers (Drug free world). That is not even including the other two types. Now it is starting to affect teens, one out of every ten teenagers admit to abusing a prescribed drug(Drug-free world).
Meet Aaron Short. A 26 year old average male who lives with his beloved mother, father and little sister in Hoppers Crossing. Young and in love. Making plans for the future. As perfect as this life sounds, Aaron’s happiness is not so clear cut. In August 2015, Aaron experienced a tragic relapse in his addiction to heroin. It was this drug that took Aaron’s life in a fatal overdose later that month. What is even more heartbreaking is that Aaron is not alone. Aaron joins thousands of other Melbournians who are stuck in hopeless drug addictions, with limited resources available to save their lives. So what can be done even begin to tackle such a problematic and sensitive issue? It starts with a trial. A trial for a supervised drug injecting room in Melbourne. As concerning as this may sound, if we want to save the lives of helpless victims, reduce criminal activity and protect our community, we must keep an open mind and unite as a community to urge the government to introduce a trial.
In the United States of America, there is prescription drug abuse epidemic that continues to be a growing concern. Prescription drugs cause a large amount of overdoses and result in an abundant amount of deaths each year. A government study conducted shows this epidemic is scarily on the rise, “A recent government study found a 400% increase in prescription drug abuse between 1998 and 2008” (Schreiner 531). The excessive use of prescription drug abuse is leading to nonmedical use of the drugs, and creating addiction. Furthermore society is paying an extreme amount of money in this battle. With this drug abuse on the rise, legislators must create a law preventing doctors and pharmacists from over prescribing prescription medications as well a law to require they both participate in drug monitoring programs to prevent drug abuse. Now is the time that doctors and the pharmaceutical industry must be held accountable for their role in causing one of America’s worst addictions. The over medication of prescription drugs in the United States must be brought to an end by legislators creating laws to stop
Laws that prohibit the possession and use of street drugs are important as their aim is to protect the user, those around them, and society in general from undue harm. There has been a great push during the last 10 years to legalize marijuana and decriminalize other drugs such as cocaine and heroin on the basis that the recreational user, and even the hard-core addict, may not be causing significant harm to anyone, beyond their own personal health. In this sense, drug use is viewed as a personal choice and drug laws trample on personal freedoms without sufficient reason. Additionally, minorities are found to be arrested and convicted of drug crimes at disproportionate rates when compared to the demographics of those who use illegal drugs, which some see these type of laws as a tool of legal oppression, instead of a valid punitive function. Still, there remains sufficient reasons to maintain laws against the possession and use of controlled substances, such as marijuana, cocaine, and heroin; though there is a compelling argument for the lessening of the amount punishment of the majority of users that are caught with small amounts of street drugs. This paper seeks to put forward valid reasons for the continued prohibition of drugs, while also making a case for the softening of incarceration policies.
In 2015, more than 400 people in New Hampshire died because of drug overdose (Nilsen 2016). The drug overdose numbers have increased 33% in the past five years (Casey 2016). The drug crisis in New Hampshire is a really big issue. New Hampshire has one of the highest rates of opioid related deaths. There is always something on the news about drugs, whether it be a drug bust, an overdose, or death. Something needs to be done on a state level and a national level to help educate and rehabilitate.
Today in our modern society, many people believe that teen’s develop a mindset of having a clean system and to stay drug free. However, people are not able to foresee that the drug use in America has rising up tremendously. Studies have shown that drugs can not only have impact on your life, but also have impact on those who surround you and also can led to the absence of adolescence. It leads to bad habits and only brings evil deeds. The possession of drugs and the conspiracy sell is illegal in the Unites States. If arrest and put on trial due to drugs can mean serious jail time. According to the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, people are considered to have a substance use disorder. (Live Science) The Live Science states “... people have strong urges to use a substance or can't control their use of it, or if their use impairs them in social situations or leads to risky behavior.” Members of society have needs when a drug is being in place into there normal day routine. The report also states that an estimated 27.1 million people in the U.S. used an illegal drug in the past month. (Live Science) The mass-production, sale and possession of illegal drugs should be banned in the United States.
Drug addiction is a complex problem in society today. Addiction is a condition that extremely affects the person’s mind and body. Addiction also has wide sweeping effects on that person’s social connection and functioning. Unfortunately, many addicts don’t realize the social influence of their addiction until much of their functioning has greatly deteriorated.
Cannabis seems to continually appear on the news and has become a world-wide spoken topic, meaning governments; commentators and parents worry about high prevalence use of cannabis among the young. Although the use of cannabis has declined in most Western countries, it has done little comfort to the population when it is considered to be the most widely used illegal drug in the UK and around the rest of the world (Potter, 2010).