...has been a massive increase in both the number of addicts and overdoses. Though as of late the opioid crisis has been receiving media attention, little has been done to inhibit the problem. Although the roots of the opioid crisis are multifaceted, pharmaceutical...
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...Every day more than 115 people in the United States overdose due to the misuse and addiction to opioids; a crisis that affects the economy and public health. Opioids have been used as a way to manage pain; but what comes with these drugs is addiction and dependence. The history of opioid use has been originated from the early 1900s as Civil War Veterans were treated for pain, ultimately, getting hooked on painkillers. The Opioid epidemic is currently the deadliest drug crisis in American History. Overdoses are killing more people than guns and car accidents, spiraling a national health emergency. The idea of prescription restrictions and pain management strategies isn’t a topic that everyone agrees on; however, some doctors and patients have...
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...The Opioid Epidemic Is A Social Problem, Not Just A Health Crisis The opioid epidemic causes 174 deaths per day, in what is now officially “the deadliest drug overdose crisis” in America’s history (Caminiti 2018). President Trump declared the opioid epidemic a public health emergency in October but did not ask for additional emergency funds from Congress. Most recently, he addressed it in his State of the Union speech, saying that he is committed to getting help for those in need. However, in order to decrease the rates of opioid overdose and addiction, it is vital to analyze the structural and cultural forces that allow the epidemic to persist. The opioid crisis is not only a health emergency, but also a social problem that can best be understood...
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...spread of the deadly drug fentanyl is explored in the article “The fentanyl crisis” by Kate Jaimet. The article discusses the negative effect of fentanyl, and ways nurses can contribute to decrease drug misuse. The article is directed to nurses, as it is published in Canadian Nurse, and focuses on resources, and guidelines for nurses to follow. Jaimet uses both logos and ethos to persuade the audience that there is a solution needed to decrease risks associated with fentanyl, and gives way for nurses to develop resources and solution for this crisis. I fully agree with Jaimet and the context, which is backed up by credible professional. nursing sources. With the help of reliable nursing sources providing information about the rise of the...
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...Article Summary I: The article “Opioid Abuse” from Teen Health & Wellness, written by the Rosen Publishing Group, is about the severe problem of the abusive use. The Global Crisis arising from the abuse of it. As well as what it could do to you. The article describes about how opioids are a type of drug catalog, that is often used to treat a variety of pain. Due to the addictive nature of Opioids, which includes Heroin, developed a Global Crisis and a majority of it is taking place in North America. Public knowledge of this just developed in recent years, as people want the destruction of the Modern opioids. The abuse of Opioids takes over your life, as it changes your behavior and priorities. There are many consequences of its addictive nature,...
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...the market. It’s a non-addictive, cheap, and natural drug that helps with several medical issues. It benefits several medical issues, like pain relief, that opioids can’t help or don’t help enough. Additionally, marijuana is a natural drug so there are not any dangers that come from additives. The cost is also a benefit because it’s easier to afford it, more so than opioid prescriptions. Unlike most opioids, marijuana is not an addictive drug if it’s just used for medical purposes. Opioids include oxycodone, hydrocodone, fentanyl, and many others, all of which have a history of being extremely...
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... 5590 – Opioid Addiction Action Plan Act: 115th Congress 2017-2018 There is a high level of opioid abuse in the United States that has reached epidemic proportions. According to the National Institute on Drug abuse (2018), “In the late 1990s, pharmaceutical companies reassured the medical community that patients would not become addicted to prescription opioid pain relievers, and healthcare providers began to prescribe them at greater rates”. Opioids are now easier to obtain than in previous years and treatment for opioid addiction is difficult to obtain. In addition, the cost of opioids “on the street” has significantly decreased. According to the United States Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (2017), heroin is...
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...JONESBORO – In light of the recent political election, some states like Arkansas have voted to allow medicinal marijuana to take the place of some medical prescriptions such as opioids. With political opinions more heated than ever, the opioid crisis is agreed upon by both parties as an epidemic that needs to be stopped. The death rate due to prescription drug abuse in the U.S. has escalated 313 percent over the past decade. Opioid prescription drugs alone were involved in 16,650 overdose-caused deaths in 2015, accounting for more deaths than from overdoses of meth and cocaine. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention even agrees that prescribed drugs or painkillers sometimes can lead a patient to lifelong addiction. This is a huge problem in the U.S. because these drugs are so easy to obtain causing an effect on everyone who abuses them, their families, and their community....
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...The opioid epidemic was announced by President Donald Trump, as a national health emergency on July 2017. It is not a recent issue, but it is the deadliest drug crisis in American history. The overdose deaths have more than tripled since 1999 when it was surveyed in 2015, the numbers could be greater now. Although opioids come in different forms, they are most often used in pain killers that are prescribed from medical professionals. Examples of opioids are hydrocodone, fentanyl, oxycodone, morphine, and heroin. When an opioid is ingested it binds to the receptors in the body that controls a person's pain, doctors generally prescribe them to alleviate pain from accidents, surgeries, stressed muscles, etc. During World War II is where opioids...
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...The current opioid epidemic is flowing through America and crippling Ohio’s youth. According to the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) an average of 11 people die per day in Ohio of heroin related causes alone, such as overdoses or infections from dirty needles. The crisis causes over 4,000 deaths per year. While some say that opioids are needed in medicine as a painkiller, they aren’t the only one on the market. As painkillers, opioids are very effective, but they are not necessary; other plants such as marijuana are also great painkillers, along with the fact that they do less damage to the liver and kidneys. A nurse from Akron Ohio tells her story of how she got addicted to opioids and overcame the common disease known as drug addiction. Although...
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...The epidemic of prescription drug overdoses in the United States has worsened over the last decade, and by 2008, drug overdose deaths (36,450) were approaching the number of deaths from motor vehicle crashes (39,973), the leading cause of injury death in the United States. By 2010, enough opioid pain relievers were sold to medicate every American adult with a typical dose of 5mg of hydrocodone every 4 hours for one month. The number of prescriptions for opioids (like hydrocodone and oxycodone products) have escalated from around 76 million in 1991 to nearly 207 million in 2013, with the United States their biggest consumer globally, accounting for almost 100 percent of the world total for hydrocodone and 81 percent for oxycodone. This greater availability of opioid prescribed drugs has been accompanied by alarming increases in the negative consequences related to their abuse. For example, the estimated number of emergency department visits involving nonmedical use of opioid analgesics increased from 144,600 in 2004 to 305,900 in 2008. Deaths related to prescription opioids began rising in the early part of the 21st century. By 2002, death certificates listed opioid analgesic poisoning as a cause of death more commonly than heroin or cocaine. Several factors are likely to have contributed to the severity of the current prescription drug abuse problem; they include drastic increases in the number of prescriptions written and dispensed, greater social...
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...The film I chose to watch and discuss within my paper was, Prescription for Change: Ending America’s Opioid Crisis. This film was a documentary about the Opioid Crisis in America. That being said, the theme of the movie was that, America is facing an opioid epidemic; therefore, America needs to focus on the rehabilitation of substance abusers. The film goes on to make a point that there are not enough treatment options and that the individuals who are seeking treatment, are having difficulties in doing so. The film goes on to discuss further, how America is facing a drug crisis, but it is not the illegal drugs that are the biggest issues, it is the prescription drugs. The film even provides statistics on how big of an issue prescription medications are when it comes to substance abuse....
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...Prescription Opioids Deanna Pannell Aurora University One of the growing problems in America is the abuse of prescription opioids. In the past 10 years, the misuse of prescribed opioids has gone out of control, making it a national issue that many people are attempting to attack. Prescription opioid use is increasing in public health, creating an epidemic that is growing rapidly. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse: opiates, depressants, and stimulants are the three drug classifications most commonly abused by Americans. A multitude of research on the subject has concluded that there is more than a single solution to the problem, such as taking immediate action as well as creating prevention strategies. I decided to do additional research on this topic since it plays a huge part in my career as well as personal life. Being a substance abuse counselor in the criminal justice field, I experience first-hand the effects of prescription opioid abuse. A large number of client’s participating in the TASC (Treatment Alternatives for Safer Communities) are dealing with prescription opioid abuse due to an injury or surgical procedure. On April 25, 2015, my first cousin died from a heroin overdose at the age of 23. After a football injury, he was prescribed Hydrocodone and became addicted. Since the pills are too expensive, he began using heroin and his battle ended 5 years later. In 2009, 16 million Americans age 12 and older reported taking a prescription pain reliever...
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...However, because American society still views black people as naturally inferior they are to be handled harshly and swiftly when being affected by dangerous illegal drugs. When this same crisis hits white communities, white Americans see the opioid crisis as personal, as something that could happen to them or their family or their neighbors. Therefore, white people are more inclined to see these drug addicts as people and not dangerous thugs. The creation of this dangerous superpredator narrative makes it easy to cast black people as others who one should not associate...
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...2015). The abuse of heroin and prescription pain medications are tied together since individuals abusing pain medication are 40 times more likely to become addicted to heroin and half of those addicted to heroin are also addicted to pain medication (Cook, 2015). As this epidemic of drug abuse continues to grow and affect communities across the United States, it becomes apparent that federal and local government bodies need to become involved. One such way is the introduction and passing of new legislation to help cope and deal with the growing issues at hand. On June 17, 2015, one such bill was introduced to a congressional committee, H.R. 2805: Heroin and Prescription Opioid Abuse Prevention, Education, and Enforcement Act of 2015 (S. H.R. 2805, 2015). H.R. 2805 is a bill, which addresses prescription opioid abuse and heroin use, and methods of managing such issues through the development of best prescribing practices, amendments to controlled substance monitoring programs, Naloxone demonstration grants, and awareness campaigns (S. H.R. 2805, 2015). H.R. 2805 is one of the many bills before congressional committees to address our countries growing epidemic and hopefully it will provide some much-needed mechanisms to manage this ever-growing...
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