Argumentative Essay On Opioids

Pain has only been seriously considered as a diagnostic tool since the 1990s. In the same decade, opioid painkillers, such as OxyContin, began to be marketed as a non-addictive alternative to heavy narcotics. The change in this approach toward understanding pain in medical practice, coupled with the rescheduling of prescription opioids, led Americans to a more comfortable relationship with pain medications. Two decades later, however, opioid related overdoses have soared and their medical efficacy and addictive potential is being questioned. A surprisingly polarized debate has arisen around the approach to, and understanding of, pain management. Those who take a pro-opioid stance tend to be patients, patient advocates and healthcare providers. …show more content…
As such, their concern is not about the individual nature of treatment but rather the larger scale impact drug usage has on society. The ease of access to prescription opioids has not only led to an increase in overdose and suicide but also to a growing black market and its associated crime. The usage of illicit drugs, especially heroin, has grown significantly in areas where opioids are commonly prescribed and is believed to be the result of prescription abuse. An addicted population has severely negative economic repercussions. It would be unlikely that the questionable effectiveness of prescription opioids justifies the resulting loss of work and wages and the increased cost of law …show more content…
In addition, the reliance on opioids for pain management has become compulsory behavior in itself, an addiction to convenience on the part of patients and their providers. Because of the consequences of withdrawal, it becomes unclear whether opioids effectively sooth actual physiological pain or merely their own side effects. Opioid addiction has become an epidemic and reasonable methods to curb any further harm are to regulate and monitor prescribing physicians and also return opioid medications to a schedule that reflects their addictive

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