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The Pros And Cons Of The Opioid Epidemic

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I believe the opioid epidemic is a systemic problem caused by numerous facets of society. The biggest contributor to this epidemic are the big pharmaceutical companies who utilize deceptive and misleading marketing practices. I feel that these companies oversold the preventive and healing abilities of these drugs while downplaying or even ignoring the addictive qualities of these medications with little to no substantial clinical evidence. This was all done for their own financial profit.
Notwithstanding the misleading sales pitches and information within the brochures that the doctors are given, they cannot pass the blame solely onto the big pharmaceutical companies’ unethical practices. The doctors today must shoulder a _________ of the blame. Unfortunately, the doctors …show more content…

These options would be beneficial to helping eliminate or even manage pain in some cases. Unfortunately, instead of paying for preventative care, some insurance companies would rather assist the patients with receiving pain medications at a more substantial cost them to pay for alternative care at possibly a lesser cost for both the patient and the insurance company.
We also need to consider the responsibilities employers play in the opioid epidemic, because of recent government mandates in regards to insurance coverage, some employers have had to cut costs by laying off employees, eliminating insurance coverage, or increase the cost of insurance coverage to their employees. Such______________ has left many patients/employees afraid to obtain help for fear they will lose their jobs. Employees are concerned if they admit they have a problem or obtain treatment that would require them to take time off work they will no longer be able to provide for themselves or their

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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.

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The public blindly accepted these claims, having been approved by the FDA, and with the public having no knowledge of the actual workings of these opioids, allowed for them to be widely prescribed for any type of pain, leading to the

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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.

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Underlying Causes: The increase in the sale of opioids is considered to be the root of the opioid crisis, as the drugs have been proven to be highly addictive. An addiction to prescriptive opioids, however, can lead to an addiction to synthetic, illegal opioids, such as heroine or fentanyl, which are less expensive and easier to acquire. In fact, in their journal article, “Associations of nonmedical pain reliever use and initiation of heroin use in the United States” Pradip Muhuri and associates discovered that “the recent (12 months preceding interview) heroin incidence rate was 19 times higher among those who reported prior nonmedical prescription pain reliever (NMPR) use than among those who did not (0.39 vs. 0.02 percent)” (Muhuri et. al). In other words, abusing prescription opioids significantly raises the chances of abusing illicit drugs, such as heroin.

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Within the last 22 years, from 1991 to 2013, the prescriptions written by doctors for opioids have increased from 76 million to 207 million. Opioids are a drug class that were developed originally, to treat severe pain for people who are dying of cancer or other severe illnesses. This began when pharmaceutical companies assured the medical community that people would not become addicted to opioid pain relievers. As a result doctors began to prescribe opioids more frequently. There are different kinds of opioids.

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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.

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The key to safer and more effective prescribing is to educate doctors about addiction and alternative approaches to pain management. The State programs cited by CDC include an increased effort to monitor and intervene in areas of high-risk prescribing. The PDMP are tools that have been implemented in most states and these create a central database to enable prescribers and dispensers to see all prescription activity for certain classes of opioids (CDC,

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There are Potential Alternatives to prevent over-prescribing and dependency from happening; it is up to doctors to take the initiative to conduct a healthier relationship with opioids but patients must be proactive in response as well. It is imperative for the doctor to analyze the relationship between each patient, frequently conducting checkup appointments, acknowledging any differences in patient’s behavior or appearance, and especially addressing any concerns of the patient. As for the patient they must voice any questions or concerns to their prescriber as well. There are surveys and questionnaires that can be completed by patients to see if they are benefitting from their Opioids positively. Patients could document their dosages and consumption patterns, for instance.

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For these reasons one can agree that addicts are not to blame for the opioid crisis because opioids are imprudently and over prescribed, produce money, and (FDA) approved.    Americans are being overprescribed with medication to self-medicate oneself 24/7 for three (3) weeks according to the article by Mc Greal. With the mass prescribing it can lead patients to become less tolerant thereby leading them to take more

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This message is one of hope. Though the opioid crisis continues to take lives in record numbers, claiming seven lives an hour in America there is a end in sight perhaps through education and this scholarship. The Opioid Awareness Scholarship serves two vital roles in creating change, the first being to raise awareness of the epidemic as it exists today, while inspiring people to make a difference. The other is to empower those who have been impacted by the crisis personally to produce a real change in the world. In other words, through the creation of this scholarship, Siler & Ingber LLP are offering a ray of light to those whose lives have been so negatively impacted by the darkness of drug addiction, while simultaneously brining much needed awareness to the issue for those who are currently unaware of its

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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,

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Opioid Epidemic in the United States              The opioid crisis has risen over the years here in America. The addiction to painkillers has caused many drug overdoses across America. According to the Vox," In 2015, more than 52,000 people have died from drug overdoses from linked to opioids such as Percocet, heroin, Oxycontin or even fentanyl. This problem did not become an overnight health crisis, but it has become quickly known in America.             Expanding our drug treatment centers across America would provide the support to those who are addicted to drugs.

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“Everyday, more than 115 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids,” (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2018, Opioid Overdose Crisis). Opioid drug abuse has become a growing issue in the United States since the late 1990s. “In the late 1990s, pharmaceutical companies reassured the medical community that patients would not become addicted to prescription opioid pain relievers, and healthcare providers began to prescribe them at greater rates,” (Public Affairs, 2018, What is the U.S. Opioid Epidemic?). Opioids can be either prescription medications such as morphine, however heroin is also considered to be an opioid. Opioids have been proven to be highly addictive, and there has been an increase in misuse and overdose of opioid drugs.

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620 Words | 3 Pages

This is why America should adopt the CDC’s opioid low and slow policy Lead out transitioning into the problem ETHOS ( We have been researching this epidemic for a couple of weeks and have found research from the Center for Disease Control, and the American

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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).

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