Opioid Crisis Research Paper

Words: 532
Pages: 3

The Opioid Crisis in America

The opioid crisis in America has become the leading most killer of Americans of all ages and it does not discriminate. The crisis has been many years in the making due to the rapid rise of overprescribing by usually well-meaning doctors, and misuse by the patient. Most people start off taking the medication as prescribed, but then they decide they like the feeling of the high one gets from the opioid. The like of the high becomes the need for the high which in turn becomes the need to lie to the doctors to get the medicine, thus the vicious cycle has begun.

Patient’s will go to their doctor with the slightest pain complaint and expect to get the strongest pain medication available. If the patient does not get the medication they are desiring the tend to get angry and argumentative with the doctor and staff, this is known as drug seeking behavior. Some patients will also use a behavior known as doctor shopping to attempt to obtain the medication they are seeking. As a last resort they will go to the emergency department or urgent care clinic with a complaint of severe pain that is not easy to diagnose and get a few pills to get them through a short period of time. Sometimes they will be
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Heroin is a cheaper option than pills for the opioid addict, and unfortunately now much easier to obtain. Heroin is usually cut with other drugs, so it could be laced with something much stronger than one would expect or with something else such as baking soda so then it is not as strong so one would need more to get high. Heroin is the leading cause of drug overdose in the country due to it tending to be mixed with much more potent drugs like Fentanyl, or the fact that addicts do not use for a while then when they use again they use the same amount they had been before leading to