...What are opiates, also known as narcotics? They’re derived from opium, which comes from the poppy plant. Common names of illicit and licit drugs that millions of people use every day are heroin, morphine, hydromorphone (Dilaudid), fentanyl (Duragesic), codeine, oxycodone (Oxycontin and Percocet), and hydrocodone (Vicodin and Hycodan). These drugs are known to have serious side effects and withdrawal symptoms on the human body and brain. “More than half a million people in the United States are addicted to heroin, with an estimated 156,000 new users in 2012” (Davison & Neale, 297). Opiates can be smoked, taken orally, and by injection. There used to be speculations that only men where using opiates, but now are women too. Opiates, “Relieve...
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...What Is An Opiate Addiction? A drug addiction is a chronic brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking despite the consequences of it. People who have an opiate addiction may go to great lengths to obtain the drug, such as doctor shopping. Opiates are prescribed to alleviate pain. Most people use opiates as prescribed. However, opiate abuse is on the rise. It is estimated that anywhere from 24 million to 36 million people in the world abuse opiates. Long-term opiate abuse can result in dependency. The reason that people who abuse opiates often become addicts is because they often develop a tolerance. Once a tolerance develops, people need more of the drug in order to experience the same effects. Opiate Withdrawal Treatment...
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...Effects of Methadone Treatment on Opiate and Heroin Dependency Since the early times, opiates, heroin, and other drugs have been used in providing analgesia as well as substitutes to reach a place of euphoria. Originally, as Yurgelum-Todd et al (2009) has noted, derived from the opium poppy, heroin has been used as an alternative to morphine in dealing with addiction (Yurgelum-Todd, p. 175, 2009). Unfortunately, over the years it has consistently become prevalent that heroin has more negative aspects than anything; heroin is highly addictive, resulting in consequences such as overdoses, infections, violence and crime, deficits in memory, learning, and attention. The need to relieve pain by use of heroin and other drugs, though, results in opioid dependence, estimated to affect more than one million persons in North America alone (Oviedo-Joekes, p. 778, 2009). To relieve opiate dependence, researchers experimented with an opiate-agonist called methadone; the standard opioid-susbstitution treatment, to help reduce withdrawals and other negative consequences surrounding the use of drugs like heroin by producing a phenomenon called the “blocking-dose”, which blocks opiate receptors (Oviedo-Joekes, p. 778, 2009). Methadone was, in fact, the “first opiate agonist used in the pharmacotherapy of heroin addiction. Methadone is the best studied drug, but also the most controversial”(Maremmani, p. 7, 2008). This paper will discuss different research methods used to analyze the effects...
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...Prescription Opioids Deanna Pannell Aurora University One of the growing problems in America is the abuse of prescription opioids. In the past 10 years, the misuse of prescribed opioids has gone out of control, making it a national issue that many people are attempting to attack. Prescription opioid use is increasing in public health, creating an epidemic that is growing rapidly. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse: opiates, depressants, and stimulants are the three drug classifications most commonly abused by Americans. A multitude of research on the subject has concluded that there is more than a single solution to the problem, such as taking immediate action as well as creating prevention strategies. I decided to do additional research on this topic since it plays a huge part in my career as well as personal life. Being a substance abuse counselor in the criminal justice field, I experience first-hand the effects of prescription opioid abuse. A large number of client’s participating in the TASC (Treatment Alternatives for Safer Communities) are dealing with prescription opioid abuse due to an injury or surgical procedure. On April 25, 2015, my first cousin died from a heroin overdose at the age of 23. After a football injury, he was prescribed Hydrocodone and became addicted. Since the pills are too expensive, he began using heroin and his battle ended 5 years later. In 2009, 16 million Americans age 12 and older reported taking a prescription pain reliever...
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...A Comparison of Methadone and Suboxone in Opioid Treatment Program Julien Nougarou Upper Iowa University Abstract Addiction to opioids is a common problem throughout the world. Maintenance treatments such as Methadone and Suboxone are effective in lessening the desire to consume illicit drugs, but they are not perfect options for drug treatment as each has negative effects, too. In this paper, both the positive and negative effects of the drugs Methadone and Suboxone will be determined and evaluated in order to better ascertain the better treatment. It was concluded that the effectiveness of each treatment can only be determined on a case-by-case basis, as the factors of success are often dependent on the patient receiving the treatment. There are various criticisms for both modes of treatment, but no other means of treating opioid addiction have yet to be found. There are improvements that could be made for both treatments, but regardless of improvements each mode of treatment is risky as there is no miracle cure for opioid addiction. Introduction In 1864, The New York State Inebriate Asylum, the first in the country, opened in Binghamton, NY. It was the first of a growing network of inebriate asylums that treated alcoholism and addiction to drugs such as opium, morphine, cocaine, chloral, ether, and chloroform. Today, when talking about opioid addiction and dependency treatments, two controversial but efficient treatments stand out from the lot: Methadone and Suboxone...
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...As one prescription drug abuser in his early 20’s explained: Once people (pill brokers) know you take them prescription opioids, they’ll start calling you. “Oh, it’s this time of the month.” Then they wait for that person to get their script. They know exactly in their head what day the script’s getting ready to come so they got the patterns down. Pill brokers and dealers reported congregating in open air drug markets typically strip mall and pharmacy parking lots, and outside methadone clinics to buy, sell, and trade prescription drugs. These markets were reported to involve a variety of transactions, including the purchase of prescription drugs for cash, as well as trades for crack and heroin. Pill brokers also reported the purchase of used fentanyl patches from nurses who have stolen them from pain patients or from disposal containers in hospitals. Some individuals frequenting the drug markets also barter their oxycodone for other opioids or benzodiazepines, typically alprazolam. Doctor Shopping focus group participants indicated that even in a small state like Delaware, doctor shopping appeared to be fairly easy. The vast majority of abusers reported obtaining medications through doctor shopping, and most reported frequenting at least four physicians in order to obtain sufficient amounts of their desired medications. Occasionally clinics and hospital emergency rooms were reported as locations for doctor shopping as well. A heavy user stated: Another focus group member...
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...Southwestern Assemblies of God University School of Distance Education Methadone Treatment Programs are Effective in Stopping Heroin Use A Paper Presented to Professor Loyd Uglow, Ph.D In Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Course THE 5113 Research Literature and Technology Sharon Pete November 28, 2012 THESIS STATEMENT: To investigate Methadone maintenance is found to be more effective in treating heroin addiction than 180 day detoxification. The objective is how methadone maintenance, a widely used but controversial method of weaning heroin addicts off the drug—with counseling has psychosocially enriched 180 day methadone assisted detoxification. OUTLINE I. INTRODUCTION A. History of Heroin B. History of withdrawals II. How Methadone is used to treat Heroin? III. Research Findings IV. CONCLUSION V. Work Cited Methadone Treatment Programs are Effective in Stopping Heroin Use Substitution treatment or maintenance pharmacotherapy programs using methadone are today the most sought after and effective form of treatment for opiate addiction and dependence. Because methadone is a long-acting opiate whose dosage can be stabilized, it is well suited for daily administration and has proven effective in the elimination of narcotic craving, a driving force behind continued heroin use. And, because it can be administered orally, methadone dramatically reduces heroin injecting frequency...
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...limited to pain relief especially neuropathic pain suffered mostly by those with nerve damage, marijuana has been used as nausea control medication. Medicinal marijuana also has appetite stimulating characteristics, which are extremely beneficial to AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) patients as well as cancer patients. It has also helped many patients with psychiatric symptoms and conditions, withdrawals from other medications, anorexia and controlling inflammation (Cannabis Medicine). Compared to pharmaceutical grade opiates, which have an extremely high dependency level, marijuana is slightly addictive but with similar benefits as opiates. The classification of drug type that marijuana is classified under is held for drugs with the highest possibility of addiction once consumed. Based off studies, marijuana has a less than 5% chance of “addiction”, whereas these other schedule 1 drugs have ratings above 75% chance of becoming addictive. This paper will review efforts to reschedule marijuana under federal law, and explore the development and evolution of state medical marijuana laws and how federal law and policy has affected states...
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...In Defense of Recreational Drugs If illicit drugs are harmful to the mind, body and soul, than why do people continue to manufacture, distribute and use these substances? The prohibition of these illicit substances as outlined in the Controlled Substances Act of the United States goes against all logic. Propaganda across the United States promotes the myth that psychotropic drugs impair moral judgment and is a cause of destructive deviant behavior. There is evidence that refutes this claim, illustrated by findings in several of the government’s own studies. The truth is that the majority that dabbles with these intoxicants is misrepresented by the media and politicians as delinquents, but are respectable citizens with jobs to work, bills to pay, and classes to attend, and are indistinguishable from the general population. Their use is not accounted for as many are reluctant to admit to it, due to the illegality and prejudice against use of controlled substances in our society. Such illicit substances must have some intrinsic value because of their continued use. Just as prescription pharmaceuticals can prove to be valuable in a specific context, so can all classes of illegal drugs. The poison is in the dose not the chemical itself. The unconstitutional War on Drugs in the United States needs to cease, because it is based on heresy and fear mongering. This calls for reeducation of the American people about the true nature of drugs; for this legalization and regulation of all...
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...Heroin Abuse: Reaching to the Suburban Youth The best driving force to get informed and motivated about a certain topic is a personal experience and my motivation came when one of my best friends passed away from a heroin overdose. Almost exactly a year ago, this friend of mine passed away from a heroin overdose and none of his close friends or family even knew the problem had escalated so greatly. It had all started with a pill addiction to xanax that slowly grew more severe but with a few interventions and a couple of trips to rehab, most of us thought that he was doing well and had kicked the habit. Little did we know that he had kicked the xanax habit only to graduate to something as intense as heroin. The frightening thing about this drug is that my friend was a small, upper class, Jewish boy from the suburbs of St. Louis and would not typically be the image you think of when a person might think of a heroin addict. He was the furthest thing from an underprivileged, poor, inner city adult. But addict hew was, and it is still somewhat of a mystery to those who were closest to him as to how he was able to access his drugs. For every person that believes they know the true meaning of the word “addiction,” there is another person right beside them to argue a different point of view. In this day and age, one would think that doctors or scientists or psychologists would have narrowed it down to a universal description but this is not the case. There are many different...
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...In this paper I am going to argue why Marijuana has medical usage and the benefits of having it legalized for that purpose. Does marijuana have any medicinal use? Quite a few say yes marijuana does have medical use and yes it should be made legal for that purpose. The people that think this way are correct marijuana does have medical use. It has been used as medicine since 2727 B.C. were the first recorded use of cannabis as medicine in Chinese pharmacopoeia but not only was it used in China but every part of the world. Humankind has used cannabis for a wide variety of health problems for not just centuries but over a millennium. But there are still people who deny that marijuana had medical use. These people who are wrong marijuana does have medical use. They also have their own scientific studies...
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...Baltimore: A Community in Crisis Since the 19th century, the illicit drug, heroin, has been a part of American society. When heroin was first discovered it was thought to be a wonder drug because of the euphoric feeling a person is said to feel after using it. However, once the debilitating effects of this highly addictive drug was realized the anti-drug law, the Harrison Narcotics Act, was enacted that restricted its use to medicinal purposes only. In 1920, heroin was banned altogether through the Dangerous Drug Act (Habal, 2011). Heroin for the most part was thought to have gone underground until the Vietnam War. In 1971, two congressmen returned from visiting U. S. servicemen serving in Vietnam with an alarming revelation that “15 percent of U.S. servicemen in Vietnam… were actively addicted to heroin” (Spiegel, 2012, para. 3). The idea that American servicemen were addicted to such a horrible drug disgusted much of the American public. “It was thought to be the most addictive substance ever produced, a narcotic so powerful that once addiction claimed you, it was nearly impossible to escape” (Spiegel, 2012, para. 4). President Richard Nixon took swift action by creating, The Special Action Office of Drug Abuse Prevention which concentrated primarily on prevention and rehabilitation. In the late 70s and early 80s the use of heroin reached its peak when it seemed to take a backseat to the reappearance of cocaine and the subsequent crack epidemic that overwhelmed much...
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...Exercise has been touted to do everything from treat depression to improve memory, with the power to cure a host of problems while preventing even more. In particular, exercise leads to the release of certain neurotransmitters in the brain that alleviate pain, both physical and mental. Additionally, it is one of the few ways scientists have found to generate new neurons. Much of the research done in this area has focused on running, but all types of aerobic exercise provide benefits. Although the exact nature of these benefits is still being determined, enough research has been done to provide even skeptics with a motivation to take up exercise. Exercise exerts its effects on the brain through several mechanisms, including neurogenesis, mood enhancement, and endorphin release. This paper not only examines how these mechanisms improve cognitive functioning and elevate mood states, but also proposes potential directions for future research. Furthermore, it provides an explanation for exercise's generally non-habit forming nature, despite effects on the reward centers of the brain that mimic those of highly addictive drugs like morphine. One of the most exciting changes that exercise causes is neurogenesis, or the creation of new neurons. The new neurons are created in the hippocampus, the center of learning and memory in the brain (1), however the exact mechanism behind this neurogenesis is still being explored. At a cellular level, it is possible that the mild stress generated...
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...Outline for Edgar Allan Poe Research Paper I. Thesis: Edgar Allan Poe’s notorious drug and alcohol abuse combined with his dysfunctional and habitually unsupportive family play a large role in the development in the development of Poe’s unique writing styles and topics. a. Early age alcohol was commonplace Source 5 b. At later age small amount made him incapacitated Source 3 c. Used Alcohol as a Crutch Source 2 d. Kept him from achieving dreams Source 5 e. Couldn’t hold jobs Source 5 f. Separated him from everyone Source2 II. Alcohol and drug use kept Poe from achieving his dreams a. Wanted a magazine of his own Source 5 b. Got sick for weeks after a binge Source 5 c. Tried to go sober many times Source 5 d. Others Around him later in life attempted to intervene Source 5 e. Would Binge until he ran out of money or passed out Source 5 III. Due to the dysfunction of his family Poe was burdened with the constant availability of alcohol. a. From the start Poe didn’t know his real parents Source 6 b. He was the wine server at parties Source 5 c. As an adolescent not many saw signs of alcoholism source 1 d. Very fit through out his teenage and twenties Source 1 e. Got into the Military Academy Source 1 f. He was often on bad terms with his foster father Source 4 IV. Poe’s unique style of writing was...
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...Gluten Free Eating Is Not a Fad – Position Paper Celiac disease (CD) and Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS) is on the rise. Although general consensus states that the diseases’ incidence varies greatly, research conducted in the last 30-40 years contradicts those claims. Yes, the proliferation can be partially credited to increased efficiency in diagnostic techniques and the “mainstream” status of the diseases, but the spread of affliction in not only the US and Europe, but to geographic areas not historically affected by CD and NCGS, is equally enigmatic. A 2010 cohort study, with data collected since 1974, illustrated that CD increased 5-fold from 0.2% in 1975 to 1% 25 years later (1). A study in Scotland has marked a 6.4-fold increase...
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