Responses for Substance abuse wk 2
Please respond to this post. (minimum of 75 words). forum 1
Driving force
Posted by natasha
The opioid addiction is one that has grown so tremendously in the past 20 years. To find a solid root cause to this crisis is difficult as numerous factors can play in part to any addiction the opioid crisis is no different. Opioids are a found in the form of morphine, oxycodone’s, Vicodin’s and most opium-based medications. Opium comes from a poppy seed and plant cultivated. The opioids highjack the dopamine and finds a short cut to the brains reward system that leads to pleasure sensation. This provides a flooding in the nucleus accumbens. (GF, 2011) The main cause of the opioid crisis I feel is from the prescription drug abuse. Patients seeking pain relief, have been prescribed copious amounts of pain relievers, they then become addicted and many turns to heroin. The only way I feel we can curb the opioid addiction is if we educate on how to successfully withdraw from these addictions. The only way we can combat this epidemic is severe penalties for over prescribing doctors. If we can not stop the over prescribing, we must initiate a program and perform intervention for successful withdrawals for addicts. Ones that will not them selves be addictive.
References
GF, K. (2011, July). How addiction hijacks the brain Harvard Mental Health Letter . Retrieved from Harvard Health Publishing Harvard Medical School: https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/…
Please respond to this post. (minimum of 75 words). forum 1
Opioid Epidemic_Ordes
Posted Ashley
The opioid epidemic is something that has been going on for a very long time. The reasons why I think it has grown so drastically is because how easily accessible it appears to be for someone to get their hand on them. Specifically, prescribed medications. Of course not everyone misuses these substances, but some people don’t even intentionally do so. One second they are taking it because it was prescribed to help, and then suddenly an addiction occurs. I think that in the recent years, there are more restrictions being made to prevent such easy access. My boyfriend is a Pharmacist and they have a lot of restrictions, codeine especially. They also have the right to deny a patient certain prescriptions if they believe there are red flags. In dentistry as well, dentists are now required to run the patient’s name and information to see how often they are getting controlled medications. Ibuprofen is being prescribed more often to avoid the heavier drugs.
At one point, my grandmother was prescribed at least 10-15 medications to take daily. It was insane. This definitely needs to change. Especially when many are used for the same thing.
Please respond to this post. (minimum of 50 words). forum 2
Do you have a loved one struggling with addiction?
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Posted by Jaclyn J
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Do you have a loved one who is struggling with addiction? Are opioid drugs taking over their lives and causing them to become a different person? If so, I urge you to view this video and see how these four families coped with their loved one’s painful addiction to opioids.
Please respond to this post. (minimum of 50 words). forum 2
American epidemic: The Nation’s struggle with opioid addiction
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Posted by Lashanda
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If you don’t think opioid addiction could ever happen to you or your loved one, you may want to watch this video, takes you through the lives of families like yours and mine that have been affected by opioid addiction. “American Epidemic: The Nations struggle with opioid addiction:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNj89ohoYQ0 .
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Opioid Epidemic Responses
Natasha
Thank you for your post. I particularly took interest in your description of the impact of the opioids on the individual’s reward system. Notably, this forms the primary basis of the addiction problem among individuals. Once an individual uses the drug for the first time and the level of dopamine increases, the body would respond by reducing the dopamine response in future, having responded to the potentially adverse consequences of the substance on the body. Eventual efforts to achieve as much pleasure would result in addiction.
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