...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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...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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... 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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...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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...The opioid crisis has reached a fever pitch as Surgeon General Jerome Adams is on the record stating,"The call to action is to … keep within reach, know how to use naloxone.” on NPR’s Morning Edition. By issuing this advisory for more people to become familiar with the overdose-reversing drug Naloxone, the Surgeon General is acknowledging the fact that in many parts of the country use of Naloxone by first responders has become as ubiquitous as providing CPR. When considering pseudoscience, particularly C.P Snow’s focus the “gulf of mutual incomprehension” between the humanities and sciences, there is no better current example than how pharmaceutical marketing lead to the misinformation about opioid addictiveness, overprescription opioids, and...
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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 opioid epidemic has become a prominent issue across America. Fathers, mothers, sisters, and brothers have been ripped from family members arms to pay the neverending debt that comes with addiction. According to the CDC, “From 2000 to 2015, more than half a million people have died from drug overdoses,” and many more in the few years since (Understanding the Epidemic).Unless the United States Government places stringent regulations on the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, the opioid crisis, a significant health threat to Americans, will continue unabated. (Body One) The pharmaceutical companies lobbying of congressmen is one leading contributor of the opioid crisis that is currently plaguing the United States. Congressmen are...
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...Marijuana is one of the most beneficial drugs on 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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...On September 21st, pharmacy chain store CVS Health declared that they will limit their opioid prescriptions to 7 days at a time for “ for certain acute prescriptions for patients who are new to therapy.” They will also be limiting the dosage depending on the opioid strength and require the use of immediate-release opioids before dispensing extended-release opioids. This program will be take place starting February 1, 2018, and will include all “commercial, health plan, employer and Medicaid clients.” In the wake of the United State’s opioid abuse crisis (the sales and prescription of opioids have quadrupled since 1999), states have individually started to crack down on opioids with similar restrictions. Now, companies such as CVS have also...
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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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...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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...Synthetic Opiods: A New Crisis In 1980, a letter printed in the New England Journal of Medicine would start to change everything. The letter insisted that addiction to these new drugs was rare, especially in those with no prior history of addiction. Slowly, physicians started prescribing more and more synthetic opioids to their patients, especially those looking to avoid riskier orthopedic surgeries for their chronic pain and those suffering from terminal illnesses. Medical professionals were able to feel good about their ability to help their patients avoid surgery and help them effectively (some for the first time) manage chronic pain. In the 90s, everything changed. There was a swift shift (fueled in a big way by pharmaceutical companies) away from the tentative, opioid-shy opinions of past medical professionals. A new way of thinking emerged in which managing pain became the first focus of treatment. The pain scale illustrations that we have all seen in countless doctor’s offices were produced and used as a first line of questioning in all emergency rooms, urgent care facilities, and doctor’s offices. OxyContin, thought by many to be the drug that started it all in regards to the current opioid...
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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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...As the opioid crisis continues to grow, fire departments and EMS find themselves with heavier call volumes with little to no increase in funding or resources. With no financial increase, the opioid crisis becomes even more problematic for responders to pay for medical supplies including naloxone, a medication that is given to opioid overdoses victims reversing the effects of the opioids and hopefully save their...
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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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