Opioid Crisis in America.docx - 1 Opioid Crisis in America...

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Opioid Crisis in America
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Opioid Crisis in America
Opioids are drugs that are the synthetic description of opium and it contains morphine
which is mostly used as a painkiller. The advancements in medicine have resulted in ways of
making morphine strong or weak depending on the patients’ medical needs. In the last two
decades, the increase of health care cost and chronic pain has been on the rise, leading into
serious effects. There is an increase in the mortality and morbidity rate due to the misuse of

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opioid. Some of these drugs are abused in a manner that physicians do not prescribe with some
patients obtaining them from drugs stores, over the counter. This paper aims to highlight the
issues that America has with the over the counter drugs.
Approximately 9 out of 10 American citizens take over the counter drugs on a regular
basis. Over the counter drugs are usually sold in pharmacies and in some cases, grocery stores.
Most of these drugs are used to treat colds and headaches, health emergencies that seem easier to
handle without having to visit the doctor. These drugs do not put the user in any risk when taken
in the correct dosage ( Schifano et al., 2018). However, these drugs may be dangerous when taken
in large doses that are not prescribed by doctors. Drugs that are mostly abused are painkillers
some of which contain opioid. Some people use these drugs for recreation since some of the over
the counter drugs contain chemicals that are psychoactive. It is difficult to realize the addiction to
painkillers because most of these drugs are taken for the purpose of relieving pain. Most patients