Opioid Crisis In AMerica

Academic Institution

Opioid Crisis

Purpose Statement

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Opioid Crisis

Opioid are chemical substances that produce effects of morphine while acting on opioid receptors of the nervous system. They are used in medical field as an anesthesia as they reduce the pain and produce the feelings of pleasure. The excessive use of opioid substances causes addiction and is affecting lives of countless individuals in the United States. There are many cases of opioid addiction which raise growing concern in the United States about the use of opioid substances even for medical or treatment purposes. Based on its possibility of imposing long lasting chronic diseases and major health risks, it must be avoided even in medical circles without a hard and fast procedure.

Over the past two decades, it has been observed that there is dramatic increase in the mortality and drug overdose in the United States. The increased use of opioid can be understood by the campaigns in the favor of such drugs in order to identify the undertreatment of pain (alleged) and lack of adequate options to reduce pain in different medical domains. These behaviors and campaigns are a leading cause of escalated situation resulting in alarmingly increasing number of drug addicts and increased rate mortality and drug overuse. The arguments in favor of opioid usage are mostly based on uncontrolled anecdotal observations, practical experience and expert opinions. Pain relievers have contributed significantly to the drug overuse in the United States as according to a report of National Survey of Drugs in 2010, where 7 million people or drug addicts consume marihuana and 5.1 million consumers rely of these pain relievers as drug addiction CITATION Man12 \l 1033 (Manchikanti L 2012). The supporting provisions to these pain relievers make it easy for suppliers and consumers to render its use for illegal and illicit purposes. Reports indicated that the number of deaths by the overuse of opioid drugs exceeds than the deaths by both motor vehicle accidents and suicides. In these deaths, approximately 60 percent are due to the prescriptions by the medical boards. This shows that the campaigns in the favor of awareness of pain relievers and to minimize pain in surgery and in medical domains do not consider the harmful effects and damages of opioid overused and are based on insufficient research and understanding of the matter CITATION Sto19 \l 1033 (Stoicea N1 2019).

The addiction is characterized by a very compulsive and powerful urge to use this drug. Most commonly used opioids are fentanyl, buprenorphine, oxycodone, morphine, methadone and many other mixtures of these substances. Individuals who are addicted by opioids prioritize this addiction and getting more and more dose over any other all the other activities of life and it leave adverse effects on their personal and professional experiences CITATION Opi20 \l 1033 (Opioid addiction 2020). The use of opioid alters the brain’s chemistry and decrease the drug tolerance with every dose. After every dose, the requirement of drug to meet the addiction increases significantly leading to more and more consumption of opioid. Relying on these drugs over an extended period of time creates a horrible dependence such that people face psychological and physical withdrawals when they stop taking opioids. The symptoms of such withdrawals include anxiety, diarrhea and muscle cramping) CITATION And15 \l 1033 (Andrew Kolodny 2015).

Critiques of banning opioid o avoid mortality rates in American believe that they are necessary for several clinical purposes and it is the responsibility of a doctor or nursing staff to ensure relief of a patient. Pain relievers are helpful in completing many operations and surgeries more efficiently and with good performance as compared to the situation where their use is limited. However, the long-term damages and negative aspects suggest otherwise.

Conclusion

The analysis of increase in mortality rate and drug overuse int the United States suggests that epidemics and concern faculties must focus on several upstream factors of structural importance including social cohesion, education, and economic opportunity to spread awareness to limit the use of opioids to avoid above discussed concerns.

Bibliography

BIBLIOGRAPHY Andrew Kolodny, 1,2,3 David T. Courtwright,4. "The Prescription Opioid and Herion Crisis." 2015: 21.

Manchikanti L, Helm S 2nd, Fellows B, Janata JW, Pampati V, Grider JS, Boswell MV. "Opioid epidemic in the United States." Europe PMC, 2012: 10.

Opioid addiction. 1 21, 2020. https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/opioid-addiction (accessed 1 26, 2020).

Stoicea N1, Costa A1, Periel L1, Uribe A1, Weaver T1,2, Bergese SD. "Current perspectives on the opioid crisis in the US healthcare system: A comprehensive literature review." PubMed, 2019: 7.