Addiction The Opiate Addiction Crisis - 921 Words

The opiate addiction crisis in the US In recent years, chronic pain has been affecting millions of Americans. Whether it is headaches or backaches, chronic pain can be continuous and excruciating for many. Pain management and relief have been mainly treated with prescriptions of opiates. However, people don’t realize that the number of deaths caused by over dosing has increased. This prevalence of prescribing opiates to aid chronic pain has triggered an addiction problem across the US. Although opiates can reduce chronic pain, this benefit may come at the cost of hospitalization for opioid addiction and as a result of overdose deaths. There is a need for advance research to determine whether or not this medication can be used in a manner that maximizes its effectiveness while minimizing the risks. Non-pharmacotherapy treatments could be the solution to this prescription of opiates problem in order to stop the rapid rise of opiate addictions. As a Northwestern University professor of Anesthesiology, Honorio T. Benzon, defines chronic pain is â€Å"a demoralizing state that confronts individuals not only with the distress created by the symptoms but also with many other ongoing difficulties that compromise all aspects of their lives† (Benzon). Therefore, chronic pain is rooted in a variety of neurologic functions, integrated from the brain that affects the individual internally and externally. According to David B. Reuben MD, a professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine,Show MoreRelatedThe Heroin And Opioid : Medication Assisted Treatment Essay1277 Words   |  6 Pagesthe source, some would term the heroin and opioid problem in the United States a crisis, while others would use the word epidemic. Regardless of which expression is more accurate, the situation regarding heroin and opioid use, abuse and dependence has ignited national, if not global concern. History shows us that pervasive dilemmas have a tende ncy to cultivate a variety of intervention and the heroin and opioid crisis is no different. There are a variety of treatment modalities, both conservativeRead MoreThe Effects Of Drug Overdose Deaths1493 Words   |  6 PagesHeroin and Opiate Epidemic Drug overdose deaths have become the leading cause of accidental deaths in New Jersey. The crisis of drug addiction in teens and young adults has increased from 2012. According to a 2014 drug report, there has been an increase of 200% over the past five years in substance abuse mainly due to prescription medications (New Jersey Task Force). Furthermore, prescription medications may lead to other substance abuse problems. For instance, many youths turn to opiates and heroinRead MoreHeroin Use And Misuse Of Drugs796 Words   |  4 Pagesdirty individuals, barely conscious, and lying in their own filth amongst hollowed, abandoned and dilapidated buildings. These are the images portrayed in movies and promoted among mass media, these are the images conjured when one speaks of heroin addiction. Few know that heroin was conceived by a doctor attempting to invent a non-addictive form of morphine, which he named diacetylmorphine (Quinones, 2015, p. 53). Or that a chemist employed by Baye r, maker of the widely popular and trusted modernRead MoreAddiction : The Moral Model Of Addiction Essay2483 Words   |  10 Pagesthe disease model of addiction differ from the moral model of addiction? The disease model of addiction and the moral model of addiction provide completely different explanation for the tendency of substance abuse. The disease model of addiction predates to 1784 when the American physician Benjamin Rush published a pamphlet which discussed alcoholism in medical terms and outlined treatments for what he considered was a â€Å"disease† (Atkins, 2014, p. 52). This model of addiction generally argues thatRead MoreThe Drug Spread Across The Country Essay1022 Words   |  5 Pagesbenefits to the use of the drug in society. However, the over-prescription of the drug in Canada has increased the number of individuals in the population who are addicted and became addicted to it by accident – it was noted that 1/3 of the users of opiates in Northern Ontario were initially prescribed the drug by their physician. This can make users feel stigmatized by society even though they did not consciously decide to become a drug user, and they have no choice bu t to turn to the street versionsRead MoreThe Scientific And Biological Basis Behind Addiction1047 Words   |  5 Pagesbiological basis behind addiction is irrefutable. Substances and specific actions increase activity of chemical levels in our brain that make one feel euphoric. Depending on what drug and act in which one partakes different neurons fire in the synaptic gap, the more frequent the intake the more dependent you become. Yet, the classic scientific approach has been present for years and addiction is still prevalent in numbers. I don’t believe the scientific reason is what causes addiction; but it definitelyRead MoreDrug Epidemic In America Essay828 Words   |  4 Pagesthousands of life with no remorse. The pharmaceutical industry is making millions off the addiction and pain of the American people causing a widespread of drug overdoses and deaths all across the United States. According to The New York Times, â€Å"Public Health officials have called the cur rent opioid epidemic the worst drug crisis in American history, killing more than 33,00 people in 2015.† (Scott Morgan) Addiction, money, and the vulnerability all play a part in the opioid widespread epidemic. To beginRead MoreEssay on The Rise on Prescription Drug Abuse860 Words   |  4 Pagescause dreamy feelings. One relates that feeling with the suppressed emotions that they feel while on the painkillers and then they start to chase that feeling. This is another way that people get drawn in by painkillers and can be the start of their addiction (Wood, 2014). When people become addicted to painkillers they will do anything to achieve that high that they once felt while taking the drug. A popular way for one to get the prescriptions that they want is to obtain prescriptions for painkillersRead MoreThe Drug Enforcement Administration ( Dea ) Essay1189 Words   |  5 PagesIt’s been used traditionally as both a medicine and a textile. It’s reportedly helpful for treating drug addiction, and its consumption has never resulted in a documented death from toxic overdose. But the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) considers it a dangerous drug with no medical value. Sound familiar? No, this isn’t about Cannabis. This is about the leaves of a native Southeast Asian tree commonly known as â€Å"Kratom.† Its official botanical name is Mitragyna speciosa, and it’s the onlyRead MoreNarcotic Epidemic In America Essay1293 Words   |  6 PagesNarcotic Epidemic in America Opioid medications are frequently prescribed for severe pain. Opioids includes the pain medications like oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine, and fentanyl as well as the illegal drug heroin (American Society of Addiction Medication, 2016). Many people rely on these drugs to relieve their pain from surgery, active cancer, chronic pain and end of life care (WebMD, 2017). Studies from the 2012 National Health Interview show that over 11% of adults report having chronic pain