Question

Discuss Opioid Crisis and how it started?

How many people are using it? What are some statistics?

Answer 1

Opioids are a type of drug that work to alliviate pain. In 1990s, when oxycodone, vicodin and percocet arrived, they quickly become popular choices for the treatment of chronic pain. Researchers have found that over one-third of the total population of United States suffer from chronic pain. But treatment of pain with opioid can be more harmful in the long run than living with the pain. Worldwide somewhere between 26 and 34 million people are abusing opioids. More than two millions of them are Americans who are abusing prescription opioids and nearly half a million more are abusing heroin. Research shows prescription opioids abuse is associated with heroin abuse. In 1991, about 76 million prescriptions were dispensed for opioids in the United States. By 2011, this number has peaked to 219 million. With this massive increase increase in prescriptions the number of bad outcomes increased as well. Emergency room visits for abuse of prescription opioid went from 145,000 in 2004 to almost 306,000 just four years later. Admissions for the treatment of abuses went from 1% in 1997 to 5% just a decade later. In 1999, about 2000 people died from heroin and about 4000 people died from prescription opioid painkiller. By 2013, the number has increased to more than 10,000 for heroin and almost 19,000 for opioids. The fact is that the same thing which makes opioids powerful is the same thing that makes them dangerous. They acts on the same part of the brain as heroin and morphine and if used improperly i.e. snorting or injecting, the euphoric effects are significantly increased. Opioids are used to reduce pain but at the same time they also produce a sense of pleasure and well-being. People who experience this sensation tends to like it and want to experience it again. Some formulation of opioids try to minimize these effects. With repeated use, opioids lose potency and users are tempted to increase the dose which ultimatly increases the euphoric effect and leaves them more likely to become addicted. In younger adults, there have been a significant increase in the use of heroin nationwide which is cheaper than opioid and easy to buy. It has been estimated that in 2016, about 27 million people were suffering from opioid abuse and around 450,000 thousand people died of it in 2015. Recent studies highlights a recognition that opioid abuse is associated with a significant increase in mortality in people in the United States and more policy makers are focused on the problem and trying to find the solution.