soc2180: Opium and Narcotics are two substances that I find to be the most inten
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soc2180: Opium and Narcotics are two substances that I find to be the most intense toplic of conversation inside of the world today. This would be, due in large part, to the heroin and opioid epidemic. In 1996, the opioid drug OxyContin was introduced to the world as a "miracle painkiler: This drug, recently, has been inside of the epidemic scandal between heroin and opiates/narcotics, but this article, titled "OxyContin: Miracle Medicine or Problem Drug? discusses the idea of new drugs emerging in and out of the drug scene and the media creating biases, fashions, and fads based on the information they decide to discuss and release to the public. The active ingredient in OxyContin is Oxycodone, which is a drug that has been used to cure/treat pain for over 100 years. Oxycodone is a semi-synthetic analgesic narcotic most often prescribed for terminal cancers, moderate to severe pain, and chronic pain syndromes Surveys for drug abuse have always included opiate and opioid narcotic drugs, but not until recently did the surveys include the drug OxyContin. Most opiate/opioid drugs have been researched and studied for drug abuse surveys since 1975, but not until 2002 was OxyContin put on the list, making it seem as if the drug abuse statistics for this specific drug are as follows, false. According to DAWN, the number of emergency room visits due to narcotic analgesics has been on a rise since the mid-1990's with the numbers more than doubling between 1994 and 2001. Oxycodone, was at a 352% increase in numbers at the end of the decade, once Oxycontin had been released and the name had been mentioned 186% times more from 1999 to 2000 and by another 70% mention increase from 2000 to 2001, but DAWN does not include research for speciic brand and drug names, but for categories instead. which means, there is no way to tell if these drug overdoses where due in part to Oxycontin/Oxycodone or any other narcotic analgesic. The idea of Oxycontin as well as other drugs having higher death rates or emergency room visits attached to them is a hard occurrence to trace as most individuals who are taking drugs will ie about the way they are taking drugs or what they are taking to stay out of trouble, but when drugs are specifically newly released and people would state that those are the d false, we just hear the name more often than not. rugs creating the most substance abuse issues, but in reality, that would be ReplyExplanation / Answer
I do agree with the student’s view.
In the late 1990s, pharmaceutical companies reassured the medical community that patients would not become addicted to prescription opioid pain relievers, and healthcare providers began to prescribe them at greater rates. This subsequently led to widespread misuse of these medications before it became clear that these medications could indeed be highly addictive. Opioid overdose rates began to increase. In 2015, more than 33,000 Americans died as a result of an opioid overdose, including prescription opioids.
Although much of the talk about OxyContin and its addiction liabilities has been going on for the past few years, the attention turned into a media frenzy when Rush Limbaugh, a radio host, admitted his addiction to the drug on his radio talk show. Soon the headlines of the newspapers and news channels were flooded with news on the abuse of OxyContin. News channels aired special features on the “much talked about” drug.
Media coverage gained more thrust after Kentucky’s “Operation OxyFest 2001”. Newspaper headlines yelled out different stories about the miracle drug OxyContin and how it was abused. Media coverage included stories about robberies, theft, fraud, pharmacy break-ins, and features of several pill mill doctors who supported the addiction of their patients by frequently prescribing the drug. It appeared as if the OxyContin abuse was transformed from a regional problem to a national epidemic. OxyContin is just one of the drugs of the highly abused list of narcotics that people are addicted to and need more monitoring.
The extensive media coverage and hype made a “villain” out of OxyContin, and there is a concern that the exclusive media focus enhanced the popularity of the drug and contributed towards its abuse.
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