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Should Opioids Be Banned

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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 …show more content…
Those who would be most impacted by having opioids banned are important names such as doctors and healthcare providers. By seeing a decrease in their industry as well as not being paid as much to prescribe and cover medications. According to CNN, “Physicians who prescribed particularly large amounts of the drugs were the most likely to get paid” (Kessler). Physicians who are prescribing the medications to patients are benefiting the most and without the access to drugs, they are not making as much money. They believe that they should have the ability to continue to make scripts for patients who in fact need medication but they are fueling the addiction just by continuously writing scripts to people who may not need the medication. Patients are being seen by doctors who only want to give medications instead of finding other strategies of dealing with pain. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have promoted limits for fewer doses of morphine per day and it has been said, “This year’s proposal, however, goes even further, by reducing the threshold and allowing pharmacists to deny prescriptions that exceed it” (Facher). Doctors believe this a “one-size-fits-all” approach and are treating every case as one in the same when these restrictions, in fact, are helping to provide boundaries against these medications from being given out freely. This would make healthcare providers and doctors have to go through a difficult process to have access when they are being denied by pharmacists causing anger and disagreement between those who want to keep the unlimited flow of drugs. Even though there are parties who disagree with banning and restricting medications, there are people who think what is being done is right and should be further

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