Number Of Oxycontin Abusers example essay topic

1,253 words
Originally, the abuse of OxyContin has started in Maine and Virginia, and spread to Kentucky, West Virginia, and even Ohio. Abusers can ingest OxyContin in many different ways. They can chew and swallow the tablets, in order to release all that it contains. They can crush the tablets, because crushed tablets can be easily dissolved in water and the received solution intravenously injected.

It is also possible even to snort crushed powder. Using all these methods abusers receive a high dose of all at once. Basically, abuse is same as heroin abuse, and is dangerous as well. Definitely, it is profitable for drug dealers to sell this opiate illegally on the streets. There is absolutely no doubt that they will promote it. Consequently, the number of OxyContin abusers will increase due to the growing popularity and availability of the opiate, which will lead to more drug related injuries and deaths.

It is quite hard to control the distribution of this opiate, but in my opinion changing the procedure of the drugs purchase can lead to some positive effects. And the worst thing is that those who want to get high on this staff do not even assume how dangerous it can be. The first goal in order to decrease OxyContin abuse is definitely providing the population with full information about the drug. If everyone who would like to try it will be aware about all the threats and consequences, I think that the number of those individuals who actually try will be significantly lower. Moreover, there will be at least not so many lethal incidents among the regular opiate abusers. The reasons for the number of deaths throughout the country following the abuse of OxyContin were severe overdose and poly pharmacy, which is the use of several kinds of drugs together.

In case of OxyContin, it can be the mixture with alcohol, which can result into coma or sometimes even death. It is totally forbidden to drink any alcoholic beverage while using -containing medicine, for reason of occurrence of unpredicted chemical reaction. Essentially, when OxyContin is snorted or chewed, it lowers the persons respiration rate, so when a lot of drug is consumed, especially with a combination with other drugs, the person can stop to breathe. What was actually the reason for OxyContin to become the most dangerous and deadly drug in America? First of all, it is its opioid structure. Second factor is availability, because if there is heroin, which is sold in the drugstore next to your house, it will be relatively easy to get it.

These are two main reasons that made OxyContin so dangerous, from my point of view, but actually, I could add another two the lack of information on how to use the drug and mindless consumption by abusers. While law enforcement agencies are searching somewhere for drug dealers, destroying the large amounts of different drugs that were confiscated, risking their lives, while pursuing criminals, closing illegal laboratories; drug abusers simply go to the drugstore and get, if they have a prescription. Even if they have not, they can easily find a person who has one, because I believe it is actually possible to get one even if you are not sick, so they can by the drug without wasting too much time. Throughout the country, addicts are writing fake prescriptions, lying to doctors about having health problems, and all this only for getting OxyContin.

People who try for the first time simply do not realize that it is almost the same as heroin. What can be more dangerous than heroin? They also do not suspect that they can become addicted. Nevertheless, they are absolutely sure that ox y will not hurt them. However, it does.

Unfortunately, there is a huge gap between the accurate knowledge and even basic information about the Oxycontin dangerous consequences in contrast with the talks about how high it can get you. They have heard a lot about, how cool the drug, but did not hear how many people have died over it. Many people have learned this lesson when it was too late. Some became addicted; some have lost their relatives and friends. That is how the medicine, which was originally designed to help, brings trouble. In Philadelphia, 22 deaths have been connected with the abuse over the period of three month in 2000.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency reported that OxyContin played a role in 282 deaths nationwide only during 2000. I did not even assume that this number would be so large and the problem would be of such a big scale. Besides the high quantity of OxyContin related deaths and injuries, this problem also have influenced the number of crimes that were committed by addicts in order to get more pills. For instance, in fall of 2000, 22-year-old man from Germantown used a 9 mm firearm to rob five pharmacies in three different cities just in order to get the drug on which he developed physical dependence.

According to Cox News Service, January 28, 2002 (just recently), one man did not have a prescription for the OxyContin when he walked into a pharmacy and returned with 100 pills of OxyContin after he endangered the life of the pharmacy's owner with a knife. Later he was arrested and accused of three armed robberies in Montgomery County and now remains in the Montgomery County Jail. This man did not have any history of drug abuse, but he could not stop using OxyContin following his work-related injury. After all these events, several numbers of drugstores refused to sell the product, leaving the sign on the door: Sorry, due to the circumstances, we no longer sell OxyContin. What actually can be done in order to solve this problem? State Representative of Ohio Tom Raga with other Warren County officials has introduced new legislation that would create a database of prescriptions in Ohio.

Doctors would electronically submit all the information about the patients who were issued prescriptions to a database, which would be maintained by the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy. The access to this database would be given to law enforcement agencies in order to investigate the cases of illegal sales and abuse. The debate over OxyContin has moved to the courts. Attorneys have filled a number of lawsuits against Purdue Pharma L.P. The Montgomery County suit has accused OxyContin producer of failure to adequately warn public about the drugs danger and the high addictive ness of OxyContin component.

I think that those lawsuits are quite fair. In my opinion, such a product should not have been sold in a regular drugstore, even to people, who have a prescription, because there are many other ways, how the product can reach the customer, for instance, physicians or medical institutions could distribute it directly to patients. The biggest concern that we should pay close attention to is the increasing number of drug abusers. Also, the government should take some actions concerning this issue.

Here is the quotation that describes this situation the best: Whether you want to blame the drug or the people using and selling the medication its all become the problem. (Chuck Baker, Deputy Chief, web)..