Category: Drug Addiction

Opioid Epidemic in the USA and Its Main Causes

In 2017 the number of overdose deaths involving opioids which includes prescribed medication and illegal drugs such as heroin and manufactured fentanyl was six times higher than in previous decades. 60 million Americans take opioids every day, that is 60 million Americans at risk for addiction (King).

Opioids are a type of drug or painkiller that contains highly addictive components and can be prescribed to you or bought illegally. They could potentially become highly addictive and leave your body dependent on them. Which could affect your judgment, learning, decision making, stress, memory and behavior as most drugs affect the “reward circuit” of your brain. “Drug overdose has already taken the lives of 300,000 Americans over the past fifteen years, and experts now predicted that 300,000 more would die in only the next five years. It is now the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of fifty, killing more people than guns or car accidents, at a rate higher than the HIV epidemic at its peak”, says Beth Macy, author of Dopesick. The opioid epidemic has increased the number of drugs prescribed to patients with cronic “pain”.

The CDC reports that nationwide more than 42,000 of nearly 64,000 drug overdose deaths in 2016 involved opioids (Terrell). On Average 116 people die a day from drug overdose (opioid crisis). Hillary Clinton touched on the subject about the opioid crisis and said, “This is a disease, this is a cronic condition that has to be interrupted and treated and preventable if possible”. The opioid epidemic is a problem in the United States because of lack of education, expensive healthcare, and drugs being smuggled across the border.

The lack of education is a main reason why the opioid epidemic is a problem. The United States opioid epidemic has taken the lives of devastating amount of people with all levels of education. However, deaths have grown increasingly more focused on among those with lower levels of education (Scommegna). With the lack of education about drugs and what they can do to you physically and mentally it is easier for a person to want to try them and then they get addicted. Having good resources and people to talk to could potentially lower the death of overdoses.

More-educated adults in the United States tend to live longer than less-educated individuals. In the Article ‘Opioid Overdose Epidemic Hits Hardest for Least Educated’ it indicates, “The differences increase in a stair-step pattern by education level, with the widest difference between college graduates and those without high school degrees. This gap has widened over the past two decades, resulting in part from steep increases in drug overdose deaths among those without college degrees, reports Ho in an article published in the journal Demography”.

Less-educated individuals tend to work in settings that increase their risk of workplace injuries, disability, and chronic health conditions, which lead to a greater likelihood of being prescribed opioid painkillers, raising their risk of addiction (Scommegna). Being prescribed painkillers is a big reason why people get hooked on opioids, their body depends on the drug to not feel pain thus making them addicted.

Expensive healthcare is another reason why the opioid epidemic is a problem in the Unites States. Many people across the country especially low-income families without health insurance struggle to find proper medical treatment. People could get hurt in their work force and not have enough money to get the treatment they need. Or they could be diagnosed with a painful disease that causes very expensive treatments to treat and their insurance doesn’t cover it, or they simply do not have enough money for the treatment. The pain could become unbearable so they seek release and could potentially buy opioids or other drugs off the street to help with the pain and then they easily become addicted. They may also might not be given the right and safer treatment for their pain but given a prescription for pain killers or certain opioids that they then become addicted to. They will eventually run out of prescriptions and could potentially turn to street drugs.

Many illegal immigrants are smuggling drugs across the border which is a main reason why the opioid epidemic is a nationwide problem. President Donald Trump declared the opioid crisis a national health emergency, he says that the federal government gives their full support in the fight to stop the opioid crisis. Part of that support starts right at America’s borders and ports of entry (Davis).

In John Davis’s article he adds, “Like those who distribute and sell drugs on the streets, the criminals who import and distribute narcotics into this country are relentless in their quest for profits and power”, said CBP’s (customs and border protection) Commissioner Kevin McAleenan. “As America’s frontline border security agency, CBP is uniquely responsible – and uniquely positioned – for disrupting the influx of narcotics”. Many deadly drugs that are being overdosed on, on the daily are being smuggled into the country and until we put a stop to that we cannot put a stop to the opioid epidemic.

Customs and border protection created a 4-goal strategy to help fight the opioids being brought over to the United States, it starts with enhance collaboration and information sharing, then produce actionable intelligence, then target the opioid supply chain, and lastly protect customs and border protection personnel from exposure to opioids (David). Once we limit the drugs that are coming across the border, we have a chance at getting the opioid epidemic under control.

There are many forces around the nation trying to help put a stop to the opioid epidemic and give a solution for people stuck in the middle of it. One organization is a group called Allied Against Opioid Abuse (AAOA). It is an education and awareness that educates patients about the rights, risk, and responsibility associated with taking prescribed opioids. The organization has trained professionals sit down and talk to patients that are about to be prescribed opioids. They go over how to be responsible and properly take the opioid. They go over all the risk on what taking an opioid can do and how highly addictive they are. This gives the patients all the knowledge they need about opioids and gives them a chance to ask questions and address concerns they have with taking the drug.

Another organization trying to put an end to the opioid epidemic is a group called The Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies (CSIP). It is a nonprofit organization that provides expert information and tools for safely managing prescription drugs and opioid addiction. They educate consumers, provide free resources and save many lives. The Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies also paired with the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids. The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids supports families struggling with substance abuse. They provide free resources and tips on how to help your kids if they begin struggling with substance abuse such as tips for understanding the epidemic, a guide on how to protect your family on safely storing drugs and disposing medication, and tips on how to talk with your children.

The lack of education, expensive healthcare, and drugs being smuggled across the border are all reasons why the United States has a problem with the opioid epidemic. The opioid epidemic is causing distress across the nation and needs to be stopped. As a healthcare emergency the epidemic cannot be taken lightly as it kills hundreds of people daily. It is more dangerous than cars, guns and the HIV epidemic at its highest peak. By taking the time to learn more about the epidemic and taking it more seriously and giving people with an addiction an outlet and someone to talk to the opioid epidemic can be put under control.

Actions of the Malaysian Society for the Prevention of Drug Addiction among Youth

Before we effectively deal with drug addiction, we must get a clearer picture of the problem as it stands in the current social context. The development of technology and the transformation of Malaysian society have caused the effort of the government, public institutions and parents in solving the drugs abuse among the young break off. The development of technology is allowing the increase of production of drug, the opening of new trafficking routes, and new markets. But, we still need to solve the issue because the young, the teenagers and the students is our country hopes. “Pemuda harapan bangsa, pemudi tiang negara”, they are the person who going to replace us in the future. Hence, we can’t let the students continue intoxicated with drugs.

We are facing the uphill battle to free Malaysia from drugs and solving the problem is not easy because we are the human, nobody can control ours though and behavior. The drugs addiction statistic among these few years similar with us playing roller coaster, sometime was moving up and drop after a few second. It is same with the number of drugs addiction increase and drop in the following year and increase again.

Yes, there is a price to pay in terms of law enforcement, development assistance and drug treatment is not cheap. But if the government takes the foot off and brake now, the costs will be much higher in terms of human lives drug-related violence, greater burden on health care budgets to cure the drugs addiction people and the peaceful of society. Hence, the government has implemented a number of programs aimed to turn into drug free country.

To reduce the number of drug addiction among the Malaysian is to wipe out the illegal drugs supply on market. The customs authorities play a crucial role through its dual mandate of facilitating formal trade while also preventing illicit trade. Lack of transparency and corruption at the borders are also among the issues associated with weak enforcement by the authorities. There had been enforcement gaps in combating smuggling and those harsher penalties need to be implemented to deter illegal traders from this unlawful activity. Government had enforced the law of death penalty for drug trafficking in 1983 due to stop black market of drugs supply in Malaysia.

The development of technology and application had increasing the government’s difficulty to detect and control the trading of illegal drugs. The buyers connect with the suppliers online and the money usually bank in into third person’s account before the drugs delivered and the delivery is either done in person or buy leaving them at an agree place. National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK) enforcement and security director Zainudin Abdullah said the traffickers were employing the students to become drug pushers through social media platform such as WeChat, WhatsApps and Facebook due to get the new generation of “customer” in school. The target of the trafficker is the children or students who come from the poor family by paying them attractive salary. It’s harder for the authorities to trace drug dealing activities involving children and even if caught the enforcement action is subject to various child-related regulations and receiving the treatment and rehabilitation.

According to ASEAN Drug Monitoring Report 2015, there were about 5,521 drug dependents who received treatment and rehabilitation. Starting from 2010, NADA undertook efforts to transform their existing rehabilitation programs to an open-concept approach with the setting up of the Cure & Care 1 Malaysia Clinic and C&C 1 Malaysia Clinic in July 2010. The open-concept approach provides drug users or drugs addicts with the opportunity to receive treatment voluntarily at local community service centers without facing legal judgment or prosecution. It allow relapsed users to seek treatment while continuing with their life and career, while also encouraging drug users with the motivation to change, to seek treatment voluntarily with no legal consequences. The government realized that transformation of the rehabilitation program was not effective to reducing the drug abuse among Malaysian because the statistic of drugs addiction continual increase. Hence, the cooperation between the government, media and public is very important to save our child, our hopes and our inheritor.

National Anti-Drug Agency (NADA) implements four programs of treatment and rehabilitation namely Rehabilitation in the Institution, Rehabilitation through career, Open-Access Services and Rehabilitation in the Community. According to ASEAN Drug Monitoring Report 2015, there were about 5,521 drug dependents who received treatment and rehabilitation. Starting from 2010, NADA undertook efforts to transform their existing rehabilitation programs to an open-concept approach with the setting up of the Cure & Care 1 Malaysia Clinic and C&C 1 Malaysia Clinic in July 2010. The open-concept approach provides drug users or drugs addicts with the opportunity to receive treatment voluntarily at local community service centers without facing legal judgment or prosecution. It allow relapsed users to seek treatment while continuing with their life and career, while also encouraging drug users with the motivation to change, to seek treatment voluntarily with no legal consequences. The government realized that transformation of the rehabilitation program was not effective to reducing the drug abuse among Malaysian because the statistic of drugs addiction continual increase.

We all have a responsibility as parents, friends, co-workers and good citizens to ensure that people we know and love do not run their lives with drugs. We have the responsibility to help them, to advice them and guiding them enter the correct pathway of life. The parent as a GPS for the child and guide them since they are young. Good guidance at home is not means that you control over your child’s behavior. If you child not following the direction that you guide, please don’t give up. People can’t escape from doing wrong. Try to find the new pathway to return them into the correct life journey.

As a peer group, we can help people who may had problem or feel left out by society by accompany and listen to them. Let them express their unhappiness and stress. This able to prevent them take drug for temporary forget all the unhappy things. People in particular are susceptible to images no matter in movies, videos, or on TV. Hence, media could play a more informative role in explaining the dangers of drug use.

Let us work together to improve and decrease the statistic of drug abuse. Continue to deeply research the factor due to better understand, prevent and control addiction, particularly drug abuse, in order to save people from the misery that is causes.

Analysis of the Main Ways to Solve the Opioid Epidemic in the United States

Drug overdose is one of the leading causes of death in America and across the world. According to recent world headlines, “in 2015, about 300 million opioid prescriptions were written, with more than 80% being written in the United States” (Davidson). According to author Tish Davidson, this is only one part of the “American public health crisis caused by addiction to both prescription and illegal opioid painkillers’, better known as the Opioid Crisis. The United States employs current policies that blur the line between “cops vs docs” in the current actions mitigating the harmful effects of the Opioid epidemic. Such policies include confusing the public’s interest in reducing opioid-related fatalities and the need to provide healthy pain relief methods for individuals suffering from a variety of mental and physical ailments. In addition, the Opioid Crisis is not just a problem in the United States, but across the globe. However, new research has shown that particular “strategies [have been] successfully implemented elsewhere around the world” suggesting that America ought to adopt new procedures to this greater global issue (Bach and Hartung 1). Furthermore, legal settlements alone will not alleviate the rippling effects of America’s Opioid Crisis. According to recent conclusions published in The Economist (Vol. 432, Issue 9158), legal settlements “will run to hundreds of billions of dollars” and ultimately the “damages from pharma companies should go directly into alleviating the harm from opioids rather than into general government spending” (The Economist). However, the past 25 years of marketed prescription have left lasting repercussions on America and ultimately the “generous settlements with drug firms and distributors will not foot the entire bill” (The Economist). This indicates that alongside the proper legal settlements, America is in dire need of the proper resources to spread comprehensive awareness and screening of opioid prescriptions.

In order to solve the opioid epidemic and maintain awareness around mental health, wellness, and personal development, America ought to prevent the autonomy of corrupt pharmaceutical companies and spend the money gained from these lawsuits to fund recovery programs instead of simply criminalizing drug misuse.

The major problem observed with the current “cops vs docs” criminalizing system illustrates that America is misprioritizing the prevention of opioid-related fatalities and the providing of pain relief options. The reason why the opioid epidemic is such a controversial issue is that society lacks communication of goals. While communities do want to stop the overuse and prescription of opioids, they misunderstand that this problem affects the health of all people and cannot just simply criminalize the substance. In fact, author Raymond Barglow argues that “even imprisonment often does not result in total abstinence; inmates manage in one way or another to obtain substances that sustain their habit, and indeed, 95% of those addicted at the time of incarceration return to drug abuse upon release” (Barglow 5). In addition, this, in fact, mirrors the results of the late Prohibition law, as Barglow suggests that this current policy of banning substance has not evolved from it’s “problematic history”, indicating that a “supply restriction may actually strengthen addictive habits rather than suppress them” (4). Moreover, the majority of people suffering from the fatal effects of the opioid crisis are in fact simply trying to treat pain and opioids are often the first or only options for treatment. This ultimately raises the question: should society punish those who are simply trying to treat pain? Unfortunately, many critics are under the perception that pain is being overtreated and consequently many patients will suffer from fatal addictions. While this is a valid concern, author Michelle Vallet claims that “opioids do have a place in pain management, especially when treating trauma, like for soldiers injured during combat or the person who comes into the ER after being in a car accident” (Vallet). Therefore it would not make sense to simply just ban and criminalize all use of opioid substances, as Vallet suggests that for many patients, opioids are oftentimes the only or most effective treatment options. While critics may argue that other non-opioid treatment options are available and may be further developed in the future, the fact remains that despite the possibility of addiction, opioids are still used to primarily benefit the help of most users. Generally, the constant public battle between “cops vs docs” that has risen consequently to the opioid epidemic requires immediate attention and reform. Simply speaking, the opioid crisis cannot just be simply solved through the banning of all opioid use ergo it will ultimately lead to a rise of a larger black market, decline in pain treatment options, and will not simply stop all use of opioids.

Furthermore, the legal settlements made by pharmaceutical companies will not solve America’s opioid crisis alone. According to ‘Avoidable pain’ Opioids some drugmakers are beginning to make amends by shouldering much of the blame for the opioid epidemic. For example, a report from the ‘The Economist’ states that “there are encouraging signs that Purdue Pharma, which lies at the origin of the epidemic, may settle a batch of lawsuits for up to $12bn” (The Economist). This exhibits that the root of the opioid epidemic is being addressed and highlighting that many of America’s legal actions are focusing on the marketing of prescriptions from “pill-mills,” where prescribers dispense opioids without a valid prescription or medical need. However, the same article also suggests that many of these prescription makers are accepting blame quickly but not learning from the “lacking” consequences. Generally speaking, it is perceived that “many drug distributors and pharmacies, [are still] mesmerized by growing sales, [failing] to take action…” as the current system places “sales and ‘customer’ satisfaction before patients’ well-being” (The Economist). Therefore, it is obvious that there is a growing problem with the lack-luster legal settlements and the continuation of both prescription and illegal opioid sales. Pharmaceutical companies need to reform their current business mindset and simply focus on the general health of all Americans rather than making money. Overall, both the excessive and sometimes illegal prescribing practices in the pharmaceutical industries are described to be the root of the opioid epidemic around the world, and the United States of America must reform its current policies to find an end to this problem.

Any solution to this problem must be assiduous with both the public’s attempt to solve the unsupervised use of opioids and similar substances while still providing an effective pain treatment option. Therefore, America must seek a more enlightened motion towards educating younger generations about the harmful effects drug use and the effects the opioid crisis has on society. According to research across the world, an education-based solution has proven to be effective and ultimately reduce the drug mortality rate. For example, Portugal “decriminalized illicit drug use in 2001 and then funded addiction treatment programs and a public information campaign. Education about drug use became part of the standard Portuguese high-school curriculum” (Barglow). As a result, these harm reduction based policies continue to help “reduce the country’s per-capita drug mortality rate, which today is about 50 times lower than that of the U.S” (Barglow). Therefore a harm-free approach to both the education and criminalization of drug users helps prevent future use and help educate current users. In addition, according to an article in the Chain Drug Review, “CVS pharmacists [now] visit local schools in their community to talk to students and parents about the dangers of misusing prescription drugs using a curriculum developed” program, suggesting that education surrounding both the opioid epidemic and proper use of opioid substances is necessary to address and prevent future and current opioid abuse. While this is a solid approach to addressing and solving the opioid crisis as it addresses many of the people at risk from this epidemic at a daily level. This has even been proven to work across the globe. However, some of the problems with this solution is that it is hard to educate the majority of people who suffer from abuse. This solution many focuses on the prevention of future use rather than addressing those who may misuse opioids on a regular basis. This solution also suffers from the possible lack of support by all health care providers. Overall, the weaknesses of this solution clearly outweigh the benefits, as public education will not reach the main opioid users, therefore not making it a viable solution.

America must seek a harm-reduction approach to replace criminalization with programs centered around educating the public and allow addicts to engage in their own recovery. Authors Bach and Hartung describe that one of the most effective “treatment of substance use disorders…[is] operating out of designated addiction treatment facilities.” Once there, specialized physicians and psychiatrists help educate and promote a healthy mind and body lifestyle along with their patients’ insights and consent. Furthermore, education-based treatment clinics may also aid addicts to help in the process of recovery. By helping enlighten addicts about their current problems, specialized treatment clinics may also replace criminalization in this scenario. Generally speaking, society should send addicts to a form of educated treatment as an alternative to jail. Ultimately this would effectively provide a plausible solution to the “cops vs docs” argument. However, this solution also faces many problems as author Tish Davidson states that the “establishment of drug treatment clinics is often hampered by neighborhood opposition and lack of funding”. Furthermore, Davidson adds that “President Trump’s 2017 declaration of the opioid epidemic as a public health emergency did not provide additional funds for clinics.” As a result, Bach and Hartung further illustrate that “accessing addiction treatment particularly difficult for rural and/or marginalized populations” can make recovery even more difficult. Patients can receive effective treatment with specialized treatment processes. However, funding for these clinics is nearly non-existent. In addition, these clinics are rather far spread geographically, making it difficult for many people to access. Overall, the solution to creating more addition clinics and providing more funding for the prior appears to be an extremely effective option. However, due to the lack of proper funds and accessibility, makes it a rather weaker solution.

In conclusion, the most effective and feasible solution in solving the opioid crisis is to create a more effective and higher screening process for pharmacists and prescriptions. The first reason why this is the best solution is that according to Paxton Bach and Daniel Hartung is supporting and increasing the role of pharmacists in the prevention, treatment, and surveillance of opioid prescriptions. Specifically, they describe that the pharmacists are typically the best line of defense for patients before dispensing “prescription medications, [as] they are well positioned to screen for diversion, monitor for potentially problematic use of prescription opioids, and educate patients about opioid-related risks” proving that the most effective healthcare surveillance would come from the pharmacists as they would be required to be “vigilant for behavior such as fills at multiple pharmacies, early fills, cash payments, or prescriptions from several prescribers”. Specifically, pharmacists could effectively observe behaviors, possible including those who may display the features of an OUD. Additionally, this would effectively limit access for these drugs as well as give pharmacists a larger role in preventing future or current OUDs. According to Tish Davidson, “all fifty states as of late 2017 have developed or are developing prescription drug registries to track opioid prescriptions”. This would ultimately help reduce the misuse of opioids because it “prevent[s] a single individual from getting multiple prescriptions simultaneously from different doctors and to track[s] doctors who write prescriptions for excessively large amounts of opioids”. Taking everything into account, given the direct line of defense, this solution would lead directly to patient health improvement, because it attacks the problem of overprescription and other ill-natured intents. Therefore, the opioid crisis can best be resolved by levying the role of pharmacists in this epidemic.

The mortal effects stemming from the opioid crisis is a problem that not only is prevalent within the united states but is a vital issue on a larger global scale. The current legal and local systems fail in providing both awareness about the problems and lack the solutions to address it, however through some few minor changes to the system, we are now able to address and help mitigate the effects of this epidemic. No more corrupt pharmaceutical companies should be allowed to simply give out possible harmful prescriptions without the proper screening and education of the patient. If America embraces these harm-reduction policies and reforms, America can essentially become the leading country in the battle against the opioid crisis. Fundamentally speaking, America can ultimately get rid of the leading cause of death for most Americans. No more parent, child, or friend should have to suffer the loss of a loved one who simply was seeking to numb pain. All in all, America needs to make improvements both at the prescription level and the enhanced prevention and rehabilitation education, and only then will America be able to halt the consequences posed to the public by the opioid crisis.