Running head: The Epidemic on Opioids 1

Jose Hernandez

The Epidemic on Opioids

November 1, 2017

RWS 1302

Elizabeth Lang

University of Texas at El Paso

 Running head: The Epidemic on Opioids 2

ABSTRACT

With pharmaceutical companies, such as Big Pharma, and their development of more

opioids to help solve problems faced in the medical field soon led to another problem that would

be seen across the United States. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention), Half a million people had passed away from drug overdoses in years from 2000 to

2015 (Opioid Overdose: Understanding, 2017). Even with large numbers as shown, the

epidemic on opioids in Americas has been pushed aside, not being seen as a huge problem in the

country. With more knowledge on the epidemic going on, the way it is affecting the lives of

people, the way an addiction is developed, then will a solution be in reach.

INTRODUCTION

In 2016, overdosing from drugs was the results of 64,000 lives in America. These were

the most deaths ever caused by drug overdose, even more deaths then the amount of people who

passed away from a car accident, gun violence, or HIV/AIDS during any year(Katz 2017).

These were not just from the result of illegal drugs, lots of this started with legal drugs, such as

those being prescribed by doctors or being bought over the counter.

Opioid abuse was not always an issue. In 1996, a condition known as chronic pain was

approached by doctors as a serious medical issue. This was because of the 100 million adults

in the United States who suffered from chronic pain (Lopez 2017). When a human is injured or

dealing with for any other reason, the area of pain turns on these pain sensors that will send a

message that reaches your brain, which will then communicate to the rest of the body that you

are injured or hurt. This will eventually come to a stop as the area heals. However, with chronic

pain, the messages of being hurt are still being sent out to the body from the brain, leaving the
 Running head: The Epidemic on Opioids 3

person with pain even when they have already healed. With chronic disease affecting many

Americans, pharmaceutical took the upper hand on the problem and created a new drug,

OxyContin. As the increase in sales of OxyContin went from $45 million in 1996 to $1.7 billion

in 2004, so did drug addictions, overdoes and death (DEntrone 2016). This lead to the epidemic

faced now in the real world. Although opioids were created to solve certain medical issues, it

went on to creating other problems. Yet, even with the large problems rising from opioids and

drug abuse, many people do not see this as such a large issue in the country. Where it is the lack

of information they may know on issue, or they tend to see it as personal problem, meaning

that people choose to live that way. Based off of this, there are questions in which could assist

the public in understanding the epidemic going on with opioids.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. What makes people addicted to opioids/drugs?

2. Why do some people get addicted as others dont?

3. How does the drug abuse problem relate illegal drugs to legal drugs?

4. Should we just stop prescribing drugs?

5. How bad has this epidemic become?

6. Can an addiction be cured?

7. What can be done about it this epidemic?

What makes people addicted to opioids/ drugs?

 Running head: The Epidemic on Opioids 4

Whenever a person gets injured, their body releases their own natural opioids. Like

painkillers, these natural opioids assist the body with dealing with the pain. Unfortunately, unlike

most painkillers out there, they do not help when it comes to high intensities of pain, which is

where painkillers come into play, helping many people who have been severely injured or

dealing with a high amount of pain. However, when the body consumes any painkiller or opioid,

this leads to the release of dopamine inside brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter released by the

brain during pleasurable situations and makes a person aim for that certain thing or action that

created this feeling (Mandal 2017). For example, one may get this sensation or high when

carrying out an activity they enjoy, such as someone participating in a game of their favorite

sport or spending time with people close to them. Just as in those events, people who take

opioids prescribed to them, dopamine will be released in the brain, giving them this high

feeling, making them feel good. As the individual continues to intake these painkillers, the body

will again and again reward itself with feel good sensation, making it want more. After a long

period of drug usage, the body later will become accustomed to the amount of dopamine being

released, also known as creating a tolerance, and decreasing the feeling the person had when they

first took the drug. This would lead them to look for either a drug with a higher dose, or taking a

higher quantity then they had originally been told to. Soon, the crave for another moment to feel

this pleasure grows, having the person just focus on drugs, later drifting away from other things

that they used to enjoy. This is how an addiction towards painkillers are developed, so although

they may help with many problems such as pain, they may come with a risk.

Why do some people get addicted to drugs while others do not?

As stated by the National Institute on Drug Abuse on their website, it is nearly impossible

to say whether someone will become have an addiction when they are older (Understanding
 Running head: The Epidemic on Opioids 5

Drug Use and Addiction, 2016). However, there are three main factors which may have an

influence to someone developing an addiction or not: Biology, Environment, or Development.

Biology is important as the genes that one gets from their parents would results in half of

a risk of an addiction for drugs. Another part to the biology side would be the possibility of

having a mental disorder, which could lead to the use of drugs to treat the illness or disorder.

Environment plays an important factor in addiction as the influences from loved ones and

friends, social media, television, and the way the person portrays this things could led or not led

to an addiction. One could also be shown drugs at an early age, treated wrong or abused at a

young age, and even pressured by peers to try drugs.

Finally, there is development factors that could make a difference in a person having an

addiction. This is mostly concern with teens as parts of their brain are still growing, such as the

ones that control making choices, controlling themselves and deciding from good or bad. This

means they could easily fall into risky behaviors, such as taking drugs for fun.

How does the drug abuse problem relate illegal drugs to legal drugs?

Although the prompt speaks about the epidemic on opioids in the United States, the

problem with drug abuse has to do with both legal drugs, such as those prescribed by a doctor or

bought over the counter, and illegal drugs, such as heroin or those being sold on the street. Both

legal and illegal drugs have a connection as many drug abusers using illegal drugs started off

with the abuse of legal drugs. According to the CDC, before using heroin, 75% of the time that

person was abusing opioids that had been prescribed to them (Opioid Overdose:

Understanding, 2017). As stated before, the change from opioids to heroin was the desire or

feeling of needing a stronger drug to get that feel good sensation that they would get before
 Running head: The Epidemic on Opioids 6

from the dose prescribed for them. Even then a person could create a tolerance to heroin,

meaning they might start mixing it with other drugs to get the desire effects. (DEntrone 2016)

As the strength of the drug increases, going from opioids to heroin, so do the health issues and

problems that heroin can cause. On the short term side of using heroin, people may begin to

experience vomiting, dry mouth, a heavy feeling in their limbs, muddle mental functioning, and

going back and forth from being conscious to becoming semiconscious. In the long run, those

who have used heroin for a long period of time, may experience: insomnia, collapsed veins for

those who inject the drug in themselves by needle, liver or kidney disease, infection of the heart

lining and values and even lung complications. Even then, some of these effects such as the

lining of the heart, vein collapse, and respiratory depression could be seen from the abuse of

everyday prescribed painkillers, not just from heroin. (Heroin, 2017) Many of these issues are

very dangerous to the body and could possibly or easily lead to death if not taking care of

properly.

How bad has this epidemic come to be?

The problem with opioid abuse has really come a long way then many people think. In

2000, the most common death was around the age of 40, with about 600 deaths per year from

using drugs. Now, in 2016, not only has that number of people who average around 40 years

increased to about 1,200 deaths per year, but for those of around 30 years have increased from

around 300 in 2000 to above 1,200 deaths in 2016 as well. (Lopez 2017) It has also gotten bad to

the point that another drug, fentanyl, entered the drug supply in large amounts in 2014. Fentanyl

is quite the opposite of heroin as fentanyl was created rather than grown in fields. It is commonly

used to treat pain, as well as for surgical anesthesia. Within drug seizures, the number contain
 Running head: The Epidemic on Opioids 7

fentanyl rose from 5,000 in 2014, 15,000 in 2015, to over 30,000 in 2016 alone (Heroin,

2017).

The epidemic has also become worse since its grown in the 1990s, where the number of

just deaths from just prescription drugs, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, methadone, has

increased to 4 time the total amount since 1999. (Opioid Overdose: Understanding, 2016)

Can someone be cured from drug addiction?

Drug addiction is quite different than most diseases, for it is not a certain cure

when someone gets treatment for it. However, it can be successfully managed and can be treated

which will come a long way in helping. An issue being back the idea of recovering from

addiction is that they are highly vulnerable to relapse, meaning to fall back into addiction for the

next couple of years, or possibly even for their entire lives.

What can be done about this epidemic?

As of 2016, doctors were making about 260 million prescriptions for opioids a year,

which would be enough to give every American adult a prescription. (DEntrone 2016)

Companies to be true about the products they are creating and not only include the healthy

factors of them, but they need to be honest about dangerous effects the painkillers can have on

the body. For example, in 1996 when Big Pharma created OxyContin, they said that it would be

safe and not addictive. (DEntrone 2016) The drug addiction should not be seen as personal

problem, but rather as mental condition, so that those people suffering from addiction, or those

seeing their loved-ones suffering, can feel a lot more comfortable coming out and seeking for

help. Also, drugs should only be used or prescribed when it for the right problem. On should not
 Running head: The Epidemic on Opioids 8

go looking to take painkillers for a small amount of pain. Small amount of pain could easily be

taken care of with taking an type of medication for it.

Conclusion

Opioids have their pros and cons when it comes to using them. They have made it easier for

people to deal with large amounts of pain, whether it is coming from an injury, or from an

illness. However they may lead to an addiction which could change the life of a person, leading

them to many negative short term and long term effects. With so many people pushing the issue

aside, it is difficult to come to a solution. However, with the help of educating others on the issue

and helping those in need, a change could be made in this opioid epidemic.

References Cited

Chronic Pain: Symptoms, Diagnosis, & Treatment. (2011). NIH Medline Plus, Volume 6.

Retrieved from https://medlineplus.gov/magazine/issues/spring11/articles/spring11pg5-6.html

DEntrone, C. & DEntrone, A (Producer), & Haggerty, B. (Director). (11 October 2016).

Prescription for Change: Ending Americas Opioid Crisis [Motion picture]. United States:

MTV.

Lopez, G. (6 September 2017). Want to understand how big pharma helped create the

opioid epidemic?. Vox. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/policy-and-

politics/2017/9/6/16262456/claire-mccaskill-insys-opioid-epidemic

Mandal, A. (31 August 2017). Dopamine Functions. News Medical. Retrieved from

https://www.news-medical.net/health/Dopamine-Functions.aspx
 Running head: The Epidemic on Opioids 9

Understanding Drug Use and Addiction. (August 2016). National Institute on Drug
Abuse. Retrieve from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/understanding-drug-
use-addiction
Heroin. (July 2017). National Institute on Drug Abuse. Retrieve from
https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/heroin

Opioid Overdose: Understanding the Epidemic (30 August 2017). Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/epidemic/index.html

The Effects of Opiates on Your Body. (2012) DrugAbuse.com. Retrieved from

https://drugabuse.com/featured/the-effects-of-opiates-on-the-body/

Katz, J. Short Answers to Hard Questions About the Opioid Crisis. (10 August 2017).
The New York Times. Retrieved from
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/08/03/upshot/opioid-drug-overdose-epidemic.html