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Essay On Opioid Addiction

1794 Words8 Pages

Over-Prescription Causes Drug Addiction

In recent years, the opiate and opioid epidemic has been on the rise. Various types of opioids are involved in the casualties resulting from this epidemic. Prescription opioids are most to blame for this rise, as they are causing the majority of deaths and are possibly the origins of new addictions. Any normal person in their day-to-day life would not walk out of their home and randomly decide they are going to abuse opioids. It usually starts with someone who has been prescribed opioids by their doctor. Eventually, growing their addiction to harder more illegal drugs. “Pooling data from 2002 to 2012, the incidence from heroin initiation was 19 times higher among those who reported prior non-medical pain reliever use than among those who did not” (National Institute on Drug Abuse). Opioids are overly-addictive And are overly-prescribed by doctors. “All opiate …show more content…

350,000 of those Deaths were by overdose of prescription opioids. throughout 2016 alone, 160 people died every day from overdosing on opioids. These numbers cause more than 42,000 deaths in the US over the course of the whole year. “These numbers are staggering in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has now officially labeled prescription drug abuse as an epidemic” (Berry, Paragraph 1). Young adults make up the majority of those addicted to prescription opioids. Around 70 percent of 18 to 30-year-olds in treatment centers have admitted that they began using these drugs at the ages of 17 or younger. (Sheikh) While these numbers are quite large and continuously growing, some of the prescribed opioids being taken are going unnoticed. “Shockingly, no one knows who might be taking opioid painkillers unnecessarily” (Gornall). Many can keep their addiction to opioid painkillers a secret, and can keep their Numbers from affecting large scale

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I. Importance: As American deaths from drug overdoses continue to rise in the United States, the nation is faced with a public health crisis so profound that in October 2017, President Trump declared the opioid epidemic to be a national public health emergency (Merica). President Trump’s declaration came after numerous studies indicating the danger opioid addiction posed; for example, a 2016 study entitled “Increases in Drug and Opioid-Involved Overdose Deaths—United States, 2010-2015” claimed that drug overdose deaths “nearly tripled during 1999-2014,” reaching a startling high 52,404 deaths in 2015 (Rudd, et al). These statistics are more than just disturbing revelations regarding the opioid crisis; they are evidence of a serious problem that is rapidly affecting the lives of more and more Americans every year. Death by overdose is not the only public policy concern, however, as millions of Americans are also addicted to prescription opioids.

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There is a serious drug epidemic in the United States and it does not seem to be decreasing, as drug overdose-related deaths keep on increasing. In 2000 there were around 17,500 deaths from drug overdose, while in 2015 there were approximately 52,500 from a drug overdose. Out of the approximate 52,500 drug overdose deaths, 63.1% of them were due to opioids. Opioid use for acute pain can often lead to long-term dependence (Rose, 2016). Studies have shown that the probability of long-term dependence dramatically increases on the 3rd, 5th, and 31st day of an opioid prescription, and it dramatically increases again after the first refill.

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