Opioid Epidemic: Causes, Effects and Society's Attitude

Running Head: OPIOID EPIDEMIC 0
Opioid Epidemic

OPIOIDS EPIDEMIC
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Why some people become addicted to opioids?........................................................................2
To what extent are loopholes and other problems within the healthcare system driving the
Epidemic?...................................................................................................................................2
How does society’s attitude towards addicts affect efforts at treatment and recovery?............3
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................3
References..................................................................................................................................4

OPIOIDS EPIDEMIC
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Introduction
The opioid epidemic or the opioid crisis is an event which lead to the utilisation of the
directions and non-directions of the opioid drugs in the United States and Canada in the early
1990’s and continued to progress for the next two decades. Opioids are a wide range of the
painkillers, which includes oxycodone usually sold under the brand names OxyContin,
hydrocodone (Vicodin), and Percocet, and a highly strong painkiller fentanyl, which is used
to synthesize to resemble other drugs such as opium derived morphine and heroine.
Despite the high degree of risk of addiction and overdose, the potential and
availability of these substances have made them marketable for both the purposes such as
formal medical treatment and as diversion through drugs. Due to their calmative effects the
brain gets affected which is to regulate the breathing respiratory centre (Nilsemn, 2018).
Though the America’s opioid epidemic initiate din the year 1990’s and early 2000s when the
opioids were prescribed by the doctors to provide the relief to the patient from the pain. Due
to the combination of the factors and the pills pushed by the pharmaceuticals company the
doctors believed that the option of the drugs were safe and the process of the incentives are
fast with proper health care system whose priority is to quick fix and the opioid prescriptions
doubled in the number. The US is one of the maximum manufacturers of the opioids in the
world. As the addictive opioids like OxyContin became difficult to be made available, people
turned towards the heroin. The high amount of opioids may cause respiratory failure and
death.
Why some people become addicted to opioids?
The answer to why people are addicted to opioids depends upon the choices more.
Around 10-15% per cent of the population is actively engage in the consumption of the