Drugs can have long-term consequences, which may not always be known during the research trials. 

Cautions When Researching Drugs

The U.S. opioid crisis can be traced back to the 1990s, when pharmaceutical companies began an aggressive marketing campaign for opioid-based pain relievers like OxyContin. These companies made false promises that the drugs were non-addictive, which led to a significant increase in prescriptions. This over-prescription resulted in higher rates of misuse and addiction, affecting even patients who were using the medication as directed.

Origins of the U.S. Opioid Crisis

To combat the opioid crisis, large-scale public health campaigns have been launched by organizations such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. These efforts, which have contributed to a recent decline in the crisis, focus on three main strategies: expanding access to treatment and recovery services, making overdose-reversal drugs like Naloxone more available, and establishing improved public health surveillance systems.

Public Health Response to the Opioid Crisis

A public health official is reviewing data from a large county. The report highlights a significant increase in fatal overdoses over the past decade, with the primary substances identified being prescription pain relievers and illicitly manufactured synthetic versions of those drugs. The report also includes qualitative data from community focus groups, where participants from various socioeconomic backgrounds repeatedly described the 'devastating' and 'widespread' impact of addiction on their families and neighborhoods. Based on this information, what is the most likely public health phenomenon being described, and which two pieces of evidence from the report are most critical in identifying it?

Analyzing a Public Health Scenario

The Opioid Crisis in the United States has had a profound societal impact, affecting countless individuals to the point where many people personally know someone who has died from an overdose. The situation escalated to a critical level, and by 2019, opioid overdoses were responsible for an average of 130 deaths per day in the U.S.

Google

New Mexico Highlands University

Opioids are pain-reducing drugs, such as heroin, morphine, methadone, and codeine, that can mimic the body's endogenous opioid painkilling system. Because this system reduces pain and can produce euphoria, opioids have a high potential for abuse.

Opioids

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

OpenStax Psychology (2nd ed.) Textbook

* Heroin
* Morphine
* Methadone
* Codeine
* Opium
* Fentanyl
* Oxycodone
* Vicodin
* Other prescription pain relievers

Examples of Opioids

* Decreased pain
* Pupil constriction
* Decreased gut motility
* Decreased respiratory function

Opioids Effects on the Body

* Pain relief
* Euphoria
* Sleepiness
* High doses can cause death due to respiratory depression

Effects of Opioids when Used

Methadone is a synthetic opioid that produces less euphoria than heroin or similar drugs. It is administered to individuals experiencing opioid withdrawal to make the process less difficult by managing symptoms.

Methadone

Which of the following drugs are often used for pain relief?

Opiates are natural opioids derived from opium, a naturally occurring compound found in the poppy plant.

Opiates

Opioid Crisis

Synthetic opioids are synthetic versions of opiate drugs that are classified as opioids, have very potent painkilling effects, and are often abused.

Synthetic Opioids

Misuse and abuse of prescription opioid painkillers such as hydrocodone and oxycodone are significant public health concerns.

Prescription Opioid Painkiller Misuse

Opioid analgesics are opioids that have analgesic properties, meaning they reduce pain.

Opioid Analgesics

Heroin is an opioid drug that has historically been a major drug of abuse.

Heroin as an Opioid Drug of Abuse

Opioid-like compounds can be used medically for purposes beyond pain relief, including in cough suppressant, anti-nausea, and anti-diarrhea medications.

Medical Uses of Opioid-Like Compounds

The body can develop physiological addiction to opioid drugs in less than a week, even when a patient takes the drugs as prescribed.

Learn Before

Related

Learn After