Running head: TOO STRONG PRESCRIBED PAINKILLERS 1

How Strong is Too Strong For

Prescription Pain Medication?

Mark O. Metzner

Nevada State College

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Too Strong Prescribed Painkillers
How Strong is Too Strong For Prescription Pain Medication?

Intense drugs are prescribed by many doctors after surgeries to reduce the pain felt. In the

US, people become more addicted to illegal drugs such as cocaine, opioids, heroin etc. once they

feel the first initial “high” in the hospitals. Doctors prescribe these intense medicines to help

relieve pain felt by many who break bones or have severe pain during a medical emergency.

Unfortunately more often than not people become hooked on these drugs once they leave the

hospital, chasing after that initial high they first felt. Going home, people continue to take the

drugs in hopes to continually reduce pain from their injury. They become addicted and continue

the use until their prescription runs out, turning them to street drugs.

Discussion

Over 67% of people become addicted to opiods and other extreme drugs from hospital

prescriptions. This only includes those in the US, as the rates in other countries are not nearly as

high. Since the government of each country outside the US is usually in full governance of their

citizens, high doses of illegal drugs, and street access to those illegal drugs are more rare. I do

agree with the methods of reduced prescriptions by doctors to patients. Opioids and other intense

drug pain relievers should not be given. Morphine is included in this, although there should be

some exceptions during serious traumas. The battle of getting medical patients hooked on intense

and highly illegal drugs is ongoing, but there are plenty of methods to reduce it.

Detrimental Effects Opioids Have on Families; Many families struggle from intense drug use.

People who are addicted to these drugs that chose to be a parent usually never parent well. The

children suffer more than they should and end up feeling bad about themselves and their lives in

general. Parents that are addicted also are less involved in their child's life, and may only look to
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Too Strong Prescribed Painkillers
them for money in “desperate” times- to buy drugs and use them. Although many people who get

addicted do not intentionally, it still has severe effects on families. The use of drugs could also

be “passed down” to the younger children. The only way of life they know of has to do with drug

use and possible crack house living. If they were never taught to cook, clean, or do anything

productive for their society, they are more likely to fail at life.

Pharmaceutical Business in Relation to Doctors; As each doctor prescribes drugs, the

pharmaceutical businesses such as Walgreens gain money and clientele. Without the continual

use of drugs, there is no way people could potentially get addicted, leaving them coming to the

big companies for more. The more people addicted, the more money both the pharmaceutical

companies and doctors get therefore they could care less about the addicted population. This fact

is unfortunate but very real, as each day about 1-3% of the world's population becomes addicted

to various illegal drugs. Although the pharmaceutical companies do not get a cut in the illegal

sales of drugs, most people start with prescriptions. The cheaper a company can make a drug, the

more money they can get out of it. This is a highly negative aspect of the American economy and

how it works. The government and other high officials are very aware about this issue but chose

to draw the public's attention away in hopes to prolong the issue longer.

Opioid Effects on Developing Brains

I completely disagree with teens and children taking drugs as it is, nevertheless becoming

addicted via doctor prescription. The chance of a child using opioids for their life, hence

becoming addicted, is 89% more likely if they are introduced when their brains are still

developing. Some babies, although results in the US have decreased 10% in the last 5 years, are

born addicted to specific drugs. This is caused by mothers ingesting and using drugs while

pregnant. Babies must withdraw from the drugs once born, and most do not make it past the
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Too Strong Prescribed Painkillers
symptoms which are sometimes too intense for adults to handle. The chance of babies dying that

are born already addicted to drugs is 95% higher than a healthy baby. Many parents do not

realize the severity of giving birth to a baby that's addicted. While they are still developing, the

child's brain is morphing into something inhumane due to the drugs.

Government Regulation of Prescribed Intense Drugs

There should definitely be more use of government intervention when prescribing

opioids. They should lower the legal amount of the dosage allowed to be given based on age,

weight, and previous health. The usage for all states should be the same rate compared to the

different rates currently in place. If a doctor prescribes a medication in Florida for example, the

patient should only be allowed to fill it in that state. Resale of prescribed drugs should result in

intense legal penalties. The government should also raise the price of opioids to a ridiculous

amount therefore most people can not afford the drugs. There should be many steps in place after

prescription that make the chance to get opioids more impossible. Even after the doctor warns

the patient about potential effects and addiction, and prices are raised to nearly affordable, there

should also be mandatory counseling and probation like checks to watch the patient and their

use. If the patient is caught with any illegal uses of the drugs after it is no longer prescribed, they

should be put in immediate rehab. There is plenty the government can do to help stop the over

addiction of opioid use- but will they?

Future Reduction of Opioid Use from Prescriptions

Opioids and their use should not be nearly as common as they are today. People fail to realize

this is not a norm nor has it ever been. I disagree with every use of opioids either for pain or

recreational. Doctors should never prescribe that intense of a drug no matter the situation. I have

neve personally been under the influence of a heavily prescribed doctor drug- nor do I ever wish
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Too Strong Prescribed Painkillers
to be. There are plenty of ways in the future to reduce opioid use both through government

interaction and personal rehabilitation. The use of opioids on developing brains is detrimental no

matter the age. The use of government intervention should put mothers in jail that are found to

give birth to children that are addicted to various drugs. Stricter penalties should be imposed for

those that are found to use opioids and other street related drugs. I understand cops do everything

they can to catch people already addicted but it would be much easier if we could prevent

addiction. Many people and their lives would be saved before they turned to useless aspects of

the community. People addicted to opioids provide little to no benefit to their communities or

families- and can not keep a job due to their drug usage. Once people are no longer helpful in

any way to their surroundings, they just cause issues, believing they are being beneficial. I do not

agree with this and do believe people like this should face much stricter penalties. When children

are involved penalties should also be much harsher.

Conclusions and Future Study

There should be more medical studies done to find a safer and more efficient way to

combat pain in patients after surgeries or other intense traumas. I do believe other methods are

out there yet doctors are hiding it from us in order to keep giving pharmaceutical companies

business and/or money. Without the agreement between doctors and pharmaceuticals, neither

business would thrive as much as it does. Opioids should never be prescribed to vulnerable

patients, but all we can do is hope for reduction in these prescriptions over the next few years.

The government should regulate opioids commercial use more intensely and doctors should

express the potential consequences and highly addictive tendencies opioids cause people before

prescribing. Governments should put much more intense penalties and higher fines on those who

use opioids outside of the prescribed use. Multiple steps should be put in place by both the
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government and doctors to make sure the patient is in full control at all times. They should be

warned of the possible risks before being prescribed the drugs and have to sign off. Then, the

drugs should be very expensive so the audience that can access them are limited. After those

steps, a probation like system should be put in place to make sure the patient does not become

addicted and if they are- immediately placed in a rehab facility to hopefully save them. A broken

bone or intense surgery should not throw one's life away, and hopefully the government will

address how detrimental of a problem this is on our society sooner than later. Chicken noodle

soup chicken noodle soup chicken noodle soup chicken soup chicken noodle soup chicken

noodle soup chicken noodle soup chicken noodle soup chicken noodle soup chicken noodle soup

chicken noodle soup chicken noodle soup chicken noodle soup chicken noodle soup chicken

noodle soup chicken noodle soup chicken noodle soup chicken noodles chicken noodle soup

chickele soup

chicken noodle soup chicken noodle soup chicken noodle soup chicken noodle soup chicken

noodle soup chicken noodle soup

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