Preview

Prescription Painkiller Abuse Epidemic

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
650 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Prescription Painkiller Abuse Epidemic
The United States has had an excessive increase in the number of individuals who have abused the prescription that is being prescribed by providers. The article "There is a prescription painkiller abuse Epidemic” touches the topic of the drug effects after abusing these dangerous narcotics. It also provides excellent examples of individuals who depend on these medicines and have passed away from them. Thomas notes, when persons take these drugs in excess quantities they end up addictive medicines that can be fatal and lead to death. People tend to have a misunderstanding of prescription like believing because providers prescribe them they are safer than any other drugs, Thomas also reports. Why hasn’t our country discussed these alarming topic to the public? Even though many people believe it can never happen to them, they are easily able to be obtained and understood prescriptions are less harmless than other drugs. …show more content…
Sally Thoren, states in the article “people think, it starts with the doctor, mom took it for a toothache or a broken bone. How bad can it be?” executive director of Gateway Foundation says. It's important to examine the ingredients that these medications are created of. Painkillers are known to be options, are synthetic versions of opium used to relieve moderate to severe chronic pain described in the article. It’s the fastest grown drug addiction in the country, and few people have realized it. As a person continues to take theses narcotics, the brain sends a signal to the body requiring to have it. After a while, the brain tends to want more of the drug, to try to achieve the same dopamine high. Throughout the years, the increase of drug intake has increased. As Kane-Willis Says in the article” “in the “80 and early 90s there was so little pain medicine prescribed, Now the pendulum has kind of swung the other

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Nora D Volkow Summary

    • 76 Words
    • 1 Page

    Nora D. Volkow gave a visual representation showing that the dispensing of opioids in pharmacies has increased in recent years. Volkow is talking about how bad opioid addiction is. Opioid addiction increases the number of overdoses and more people think it's ok to take pain pills. Prescription medicine can be very helpful to people that are in pain. But too many doctors are writing prescriptions for these people and the pills are too easy to get.…

    • 76 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    painkiller drug is being seen in urban and suburban areas, rural communities, and the inner cities…

    • 1207 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Summary Of Chasing Herion

    • 382 Words
    • 2 Pages

    According to the “Chasing Herion” video medical staff believe that the use of opioids can be in a positive way. Dr.Russel states “The likelihood that the treatment of pain using an opioid drug which is prescribed by a doctor will lead to addiction is extremely low.” Thus supporting this claim. Opioids will be used to treat AIDS and other pain causing diseases.…

    • 382 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Over one thousand people a year in North Carolina in the las two decades died of overdose prescriptions such as oxycontin, percolate and others pain killers know as Opioids and to make it work these doctors are not even to be likely be responsible. In 2013 through 2015 there were more than 7000 cases the medical board was investigated but 343 cases was about the presciption issue. The article also refers to some states such as Kentucky, Tennessee, and Texas these states keep as databases and send information to law enforcement perhaps these should be a law…

    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    “We Love Them. We Hate Them. We Take Them.” by Abigail Zuger discusses the sensitive topic of prescription drug abuse by doctors. She claims in her essay that drug advertisements have become so persuasive and aggressive, that doctors are feeling the need to prescribe them to patients, even though they don’t necessarily need them. Zuger uses a personal experience from her life to illustrate her thesis for the audience. The experience was when she prescribed one of her patients a pill because she felt it would help him, and she continually told him to keep taking it, but he told her it made him feel the opposite of better. She still pursued him to take it even though his body was signaling for him not to. He ended up in the hospital from this drug, and she feels awful about the entire situation. Zuger claims the situation has opened her eyes to the real effects of prescription drugs and to listen to the patient’s body, the description of the drug. “Beware of Drug Sales” by Therese Cherry claims that prescription and over-the-counter drugs are being too aggressively advertised, persuading people who don’t even need them to take them. She claims even some doctors are persuaded by the ads to prescribe them to their patients (such as Zuger), some are even paid. She claims this is an extremely negative effect on our…

    • 1203 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The high rate of opioid prescription brings many problems to the healthcare system, including the nursing profession, the health of individuals, their family, and their community. Many people have the perception that these type of drugs can do no harm to them, when in fact when it is misused, it can bring many problems and do more harm than good.…

    • 271 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Best Essays

    Opioids Research Paper

    • 2201 Words
    • 9 Pages

    the chains of addiction there have been many forms for recovery and treatment made available to…

    • 2201 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Perhaps the article wanted to focus on the prescriber’s side of this ethical issue but it is important to note that the pharmacist plays a crucial role. While the physician is prescribing the opioids, it is the pharmacist that often takes the heat if there is an issue with the prescription. From personal experiences, I have observed how situations can turn ugly quick when the pharmacist cannot fill an opioid prescription for whatever reason. This could be due to the insurance not paying for it because it is too early to fill or the pharmacist suspecting that the patient is a drug seeker due to multiple scripts from different providers. In a small town like Milford, the pharmacist could play a role in monitoring how much and how often a patient fills their opioid prescriptions. They could look for trends such as early refills, which could indicate the patient is either a seeker or their pain is not adequately controlled. Pharmacists could also use their knowledge of medications to assist physicians design alternative therapies for adequate pain control. This is an example of the value of altruism in which the pharmacist can establish a positive and respectful relationship with the physician in order to provide the best care for their patients (Haddad). It is unfortunate that some patients will not be able to get adequate pain control with the new restricting guidelines. As the last patient of Dr. Wergin explained, “the people who are abusing these medications are ruining it for the rest of us.”…

    • 476 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prescription drugs are one of the most commonly used methods of curing illness, and fighting diseases, however they have many negative side effects such as addiction and abuse as seen in today's society and in Brave New World. One in every four people in America abuse prescription drugs. There are many diseases people could die from if not for prescription drugs. Prescription drugs also tranquilize many illnesses or harmful body conditions allowing for a sort of numbness or ease to the human body.…

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lately, there seems to be a fine line between helping patients and curbing drug abuse. Since doctors seemed to be under prescribing painkillers, they eventually were urged to use the medicine that they had to help the patients feel better. This seemed to have gotten out of hand in the last ten to twenty years. Matt Berry says, “Although prescription drugs are necessary and lifesaving in many circumstances, the correlation between prescription drugs and prescription drug addiction is undeniable”(Are Doctors to Blame for Prescription Drug Abuse?). Doctors are aware of this alarming correlation and should have been…

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    What was once an effective solution for managing chronic pain has become one of the most commonly abused substances in our society, causing the need for a monitored and effective plan for treating chemically dependent individuals and their addiction to opiate’s. Ghodse (2012) stated that addiction to opiates is a disease causing malfunctions of the brain; it has effects on the mind and body requiring a specific medication in the treatment plan, and is recognized as being the most effective. Deaths should only occur from old age; that’s not the case now days and it’s because of this horrible addiction. It’s one of the risks taken from abusing opioids. It’s gotten so bad teenagers are dying from it. Are opiates worth giving your life to? No drug is worth my life! For those that feel it’s impossible to stop, ask a doctor about buprenorphine. It’s what doctor’s use for treating this addiction and acts as an opioid receptor in the brain (Ghodse, 2012). Yeah it’s great there’s a solution to help stop substance abuse, but never using is a lot more effective for your life. Shoenfeld (2012) made it clear that once you start abusing opiates, most require treatment in order to stop…

    • 1082 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    With the current prescription system, there are many people who get addicted to the drug that they're prescribed. One in four teens admit to misusing a prescription drug, which is a 33 percent increase in the past five years (Goldberg 1). Many teens get the drug to help with their disease, and while it helps, it also causes addiction. If the prescription system is eliminated, there is a high chance of many more teens also becoming addicted to prescription painkillers. The most addictive drugs on the market are the mood altering drugs (Turner 1). Mood altering drugs are the most popular due to many people enjoying the feeling of the drug. Jerry who was a past addict says that he went to extreme lengths to get his next fix of painkillers; going as far as to steal from people who need the drugs (1). Even with prescriptions there are some people who will do extreme actions to get their painkillers. With no prescription system the chances of more people like Jerry are high. Strangely enough, while people take prescription drugs to better themselves, it can also be very harmful to people who take too many drugs (3). With no prescription system, there will be more people using more drugs. With that in hand, it can lead to more fatalities and damage to society. The prescription painkiller addiction is so bad that there have been more cases of overdose, the was caused by heroin and cocaine combined (1). Even so, while there has been many cases of addiction the prescription painkillers, it is safer that the doctor prescribes the drug than the user determining when to use it (2).…

    • 1664 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The United States has prevailed through numerous deadly epidemics in the past involving diseases such as Smallpox and Polio of which have killed thousands of people. All of which were overcome with the help of the country’s top medical researchers. Unfortunately, the country is currently undergoing through an Opioid epidemic, considered one of the leading causes of injury deaths in the United States. Whilst, these prescription drugs was created by pharmaceutical companies to further help relieve pain, depression, sleep insomnia, amongst many other psychological issues, people have now become addicted and dependent on these medications for daily…

    • 1228 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Why are prescription medications quickly becoming the most abused drug throughout today's youth. Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, estimates that forty eight million people misuse prescribed medicine. That is about twenty percent of the United States population (1). Maybe because these medications are fairly easy to posses, no matter of the age trying to acquire them. It is less expensive than street drugs such as ecstasy, marijuana, or cocaine. A thought of prescription pills may be less addictive and entertaining as well. Some people may also find drugs in their medicine cabinet…

    • 1644 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Opioid Misuse

    • 538 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The drugs contain opioids are substances that are derived from pharmacologically similar to opiates, which includes a strong family of analgesics that carry with important risk of addiction. These opioids are a blessing for the people who have debilitating pain, helps to manage and get back to normal functioning, but in contrast it can destroy the lives of an individual with addiction. Prescription drug misuse has become a nationwide epidemic with deaths quadrupling since 1999 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2016).…

    • 538 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays