ipl-logo

Persuasive Essay On Opioids

1533 Words7 Pages

Introduction Opioids are a set of drugs that are classified by their effect on the opioid receptors and their ability to provide pain relief. Opioids include legal prescription pain relievers such as OxyContin, Vicodin and morphine and the illegal drugs , fentanyl and heroin. Out of the three types of opioids, prescription pain relievers have become the most abused among various demographics. In fact, the U.S is the world’s leader for prescribing pain killing opioids. With the promotion of the prescription opioids as safe by pharmacutical companies in the 1990s, medical professionals began to prescribe them as higher rates. At the time it was believed that prescription pain relievers were nonaddictive, because they were marketed as such, …show more content…

According to the CDC, the highest overdose rates are among people between 24 and 54 ,but there has also been an increase in the misuse of prescription opioids by teens.The situation has gotten so severe that it has been deemed “the deadliest drug overdose epidemic in U.S history” by NPR and our current President, Donald Trump, “declared it a …show more content…

Many on the patients who receive prescription opioids are mental health patients as well, and they typically have mental health problems because they are stressed in the environment they are in. Since many of these communities that have an abundance of mental health problems are poor, states should also fund money into preventative programs for these communities, so that they can teach stress relief. Classes such as meditation, budgeting, yoga, etc. should be offered and promoted at community centers as ways to prevent mental illness. In addition, for people who already suffer from chronic pain , other options should be discussed and should be covered by both independent health insurance and Medicaid , if the patient decides to choose these options instead . These include procedures such as acupuncture, massage, chiropractic realignment,

Show More
Related
1557 Words | 7 Pages

Quinones states, “As the opiate epidemic mangled the middle class, these kids doped up and dropped out. Earlier generations of opiate addicts became self-employed construction workers or painters, because that was all they could manage with heroin, and often jail, in their lives” (274), which is a major problem America faces when trying to solve the opiate epidemic. If we educate the states about the addiction rates and potential danger of opiates, public opinion could shift, creating alternate solutions to solving the heroin epidemic in America. In order to lower the amount of opiate addicts the stigma that used to be associated with opiate use needs to return. The fear that used to surround opiate use was one of the only reasons opiates were not used as medication.

Read More
1148 Words | 5 Pages

Prescription opioids are pain relievers such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine that have been prescribed to the patient by a doctor. However, prescription drug abuse is a growing trend in America. Many pharmaceutical companies have played a large role in creating this epidemic. Companies such as Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson, and Endo Pharmaceuticals began a trend of marketing the drugs for minor pain such as neck and back in 1990. Prior to this prescription opioids had only been prescribed to patients with long term illness and pain, such as cancer patients.

Read More
935 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More
737 Words | 3 Pages

The death rate associated with opioid overdose has

Read More
523 Words | 3 Pages

Today, a crisis called the opioid epidemic is currently rising. The opioid epidemic is the use of prescription and nonprescription opioids. Examples of opioid drugs are heroin, oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine, and many others. The opioid epidemic is swiftly increasing in the United States; however, it can rapidly decrease if people were to do these things: aware the new generation of the effects, provide the ill with better treatment options, and put a stop to overprescribing.

Read More
485 Words | 2 Pages

Opioids are a prescription medication involving various forms of drugs, it can benefit patients as little as a few minutes, however, it can be extremely dangerous to patients without self-control. Morphine, heroin, oxycodone, and fentanyl are used for many different medical uses until companies started to combine these four ingredients into one small simple pill. The pill reduces chronic pain from a body in a matter of minutes taking a minimum dosage. The company that produces Opioids have discovered that for the most part opioids are healthier and safer than any other medications. Like other medications, opioids can also have its side effects too such as; sedation restlessness, respiratory depression, nausea, vomiting, constipation and much more.

Read More
737 Words | 3 Pages

America has been suffering from opioid crisis according to “America’s Opioid Crisis” by Chris Mc Greal. Doctors have an open a legal gateway to drugs through the opioids prescribed excessively. American government is ignoring the epidemic issue of the opioid crisis because it produces a lot of money. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) who is responsible to protect our health and make sure our safety has disregarded their responsibilities and geared its focus in money being produced by approving the mass prescribing of pills. America blames the addicts and turns a blind side due to the lack of restrictions and money being made.

Read More
474 Words | 2 Pages

Since the opioid crisis is so widespread and vastly growing, attention is brought to a nation level. Victims of the opioid crisis mainly stem from normal lives, obtaining opioids as a form of legitimate pain management for medical reasons. Upon prolonged use of these opioids

Read More
1087 Words | 5 Pages

Prescription drugs (opiates only) have caused over 165,000 deaths within the last 15 years and is currently on the rise. Over 2 million Americans in 2014 were addicted to Opiate prescription narcotics. The most troubling fact is listed directly on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website: “As many as 1 in 4

Read More
596 Words | 3 Pages

Dependence on prescription opioids can stem from treatment of chronic pain and in recent years is the cause of the increased number of opioid overdoses. Opioids are very addictive substances, having serious life threatening consequences in case of intentional or accidental overdose. The euphoria attracts recreational use, and frequent,

Read More
582 Words | 3 Pages

“Opioid overdoses accounted for more than 42,000 deaths in 2016, more than any previous year on record. An estimated 40% of opioid overdose deaths involved a prescription opioid,” (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2018, Opioid Overdose Crisis).

Read More
1505 Words | 7 Pages

It might seem like the simple solution would be to stop prescribing opioids altogether, but that would actually create more problems. If opioids became illegal, people would just turn to other drugs like heroin. Some patients really do need opioids, and the drugs can be good for them. Removing access would hurt the people who need them the most. Switzerland had an opiate problem in the 1980s and ‘90s, and they tried solving the problem in multiple ways.

Read More
1689 Words | 7 Pages

America is in the midst of an epidemic that is growing at an exponential rate: opioid addiction. Despite laws and regulations, the use and abuse of opioids is increasing at an alarming rate, raising the death toll with it. America’s opioid epidemic affects the the lives of roughly two million citizens and counting each year. Contrary to past popular belief, Doctors and pharmaceutical corporations are among the largest distributors of opioid substances and deadly narcotics. Painkillers prescribed by doctors are some of the most addictive and deadly substances in the narcotic industry.

Read More
1036 Words | 5 Pages

According to Michael Klein, “The most prescription drugs that are commonly misused are opioids, tranquillizers, sedatives, and hypnotics.” Unintentional overdose deaths involving opioid pain relievers have quadrupled since 1999 and have outnumbered those involving heroin and cocaine since 2002. (Klein). The reason some people abuse opioids is just to “get high”.

Read More
970 Words | 4 Pages

These pills, such as xanax and oxycodone allow people for short periods of time to withdraw from the harsh reality faced today. “Between 1997 and 2002, sales of oxycodone and methadone nearly quadrupled” (Okie). Around 15 years later and the prescription pill problem is continuing to skyrocket. Since prescription pills are dispersed out to anyone by doctors, many people do not realize that it is as much of an illicit drug as cocaine and heroin is. “Misinformation about the addictive properties of prescription opioids and the perception that prescription drugs are less harmful than illicit drugs are other possible contributors to the problem” (NIDA).

Read More

More about Persuasive Essay On Opioids

Related Topics

Open Document