Pros And Cons Of Opioids

Should Doctors be Able to Legally Prescribe Opioids?

Teal Swan, an internationally recognized spiritual leader and a modern influential voice in the study of metaphysics once quoted, “Every addiction, no matter what it is, is the result of trying to escape from something by going in the direction of a need that is currently not being met. In order to pass our addiction, we have to figure out what we are trying to use our addiction to get away from and what need we are trying to use our addiction to meet.” Swan’s words paint a clear picture of the beginning stages of addiction. When addicted to opioids, patients feel as though the pills will get them out of their pain and suffering, rather in most cases, the opioids go on to cause a much bigger

Opioids are very addictive drugs and can lead on to opioid dependence. Opioid dependence starts causing problems when the body physically relies on opioids, you can’t control withdrawals, and you encounter major cravings. Statistics gathered by Nora D. Volkow an MD and director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), showed that an estimated 2.1 million people in the U.S suffer from substance abuse related to prescribed opioids. Opioid addiction is a serious health issue, which is going on to cause the opioid epidemic. With drug overdose death being the number one cause of death in the United States, the problem is just continuing to expand. Critics often contend that regulation, monitoring, and illegalization of opioids would block access for the chronically ill patients who need the drugs for justifiable medical reasons. Despite this idea, it is absolutely critical to illegalize a doctor's ability to prescribe opioids because they should not be a doctor's first choice, people who abuse opioids not only harm themselves, but the people around them also, and the rate of opioid overdoses have been

Now, scientists often contend that studies show most people who developed problems with opioid use have had a prior history of drug abuse. Despite this idea, opioids are upon some of the most addictive substances, so anyone with a clean drug background can become hooked on instantly. To commence, an article in the Wall Street Journal titled “Opioids Shouldn’t Be a Doctor’s First Resort” endorses that, “Frequently patients suffer from little more than muscle spasms, which, while painful, might be better treated with heat, physical therapy, muscle relaxants, or dvil. Sometimes even proper posture or weight loss will do the trick. These are do-no-harm options. But doctors may be too rushed or self-serving to consider them” (Siegel).The essence behind this argument is that physicians do not consider their alternatives. Instead of putting their patients through many steps to conquer pain, they jump right to a one-step solution, opioids. Next, Dr. Mark Siegel, an American physician and the medical correspondent for Fox News adds that, “Close to 50% of the opioids prescribed in this country were given out by by primary-care doctors like me. Our pain training is minimal, yet patients frequently ask us to help them to manage or overcome it. Too many of us jump quickly to Percocet, Vicodin, and Codeine, drugs that merely mask symptoms instead