Essay Example on Drug Addiction is an Epidemic

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Drug addiction is an epidemic that is increasing tremendously in Canada today more specifically the opioid epidemic which is hindering the lives of the unwilling Opioids are narcotic pain killers with a prescription only status due to the medicines potential toxicity which require the guidance of a physician for safe and appropriate use To some extent pharmaceuticals have the potential to improve health outcomes However what about the subjective factors such as undeserving addiction Can the Pharmaceutical companies increase their research to create an innocuous pain killer Pharmaceutical Companies The Gateway to Addiction For suffering convalescents Pharmaceuticals have minimized hospitalization substituted surgical procedures and have improved the capacity for patients to function in everyday society Although pharmaceuticals have the potential to improve life quality for the sufferer on the contrary Pharmaceuticals that hold a prescription only status due to the high levels of toxicity such as Fentanyl and OxyContin has claimed the lives of 4 321 individuals from 2016 to 2017 Web based Report Ottawa Public Health Agency of Canada 2017 Contrary to popular belief that these toxic pharmaceuticals actually help all patients there are more disadvantages than advantages when consuming these drugs such as addiction and death Nonetheless head of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto Dr David Juurlink agrees that these pharmaceuticals are prescribed too redundantly Juurlink states We still prescribe opioids too much at doses that are not just inadvisable but also dangerous Nobody quibbles with the use of opioids in acute pain or palliative care But we have enough opioids there are plenty of options for palliative care and for chronic care

As Opioid related deaths are sky rocketing Pharmaceutical companies are still the fastest growing component of Canadian health care expenses with sales escalating at a standard of roughly 881 Million in retail pharmacies Ubelacker S 2017 Considering the fact that Canadian Pharmaceutical Companies are an important source of funding for Canadas Health Sector a scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto Benedikt Fischer suggests that regardless of the knowledge of over dispensing Opioids there has been no real evidence of reducing dispensation An investigation done by The Star even found that some Canadian Pharmaceutical companies were non compliant with government policy stating that Canadian drug companies knowingly over distributed defective products The Star had to rely on inspection records provided by the U S Food and Drug Administration which inspects Canadian facilities that export drugs south of the border McLean Bruser 2018 A question may arise where is the authority As the government acts as a curator nevertheless it has systematically been weakened due to pharmaceutical industry partnerships With all things considered regulatory safety standards and funds devoted to pharmaceuticals require a stronger government domination With a stronger authority Pharmaceutical companies will be unable to impair the government role as a regulator Without regulatorily pharmaceuticals will potentially have pandemic consequences on individuals within the communities of Canada Consequences Fentanyl The Deadliest Opioid Addiction is a consequence known too well in the pharmaceutical industry When an individual is prescribed to an Opioid pain killer whether it be prescribed for severe pain after an accident or health conditions such as cancer addiction is not a personal choice Consider this the most addictive synthetic prescribed opioid Fentanyl has a direct impact on the brains reward system known as the Mesolimbic dopamine pathway

This is due to the release of dopamine at a greater prosperity than typical this causes an individual to have feelings of euphoria and contentment Individuals do not choose to become addicted to euphoria induced drugs rather an individual s mesolimbic dopamine pathway will simply become dependent on the powerful release of dopamine As previously stated with statistics from the Government of Canada Fentanyl has claimed the lives of 4 321 individuals In the act of Fentanyl causing euphoria Fentanyl is one hundred times more potent than Heroin Fentanyl has the strength and potency to act instantaneously where only a millionth of a gram is prescribed to acquainted patients Considering that Fentanyl acts immediately and provides long lasting euphoria Fentanyl fits the profile of drugs that are difficult to stop using this is addiction In view of Fentanyl being remarkably intense it is effortless to consume enough to overdose as 2 milligrams of pure fentanyl the size of about 4 grains of salt is enough to kill the average adult What is fentanyl Royal Canadian Mounted Police 2018 With such a miniscule amount to cause death fentanyl still remains to cause havoc within Canadian communities today Chris Fagan the CEO of 1000 Islands Addiction Rehab and a former employer is all too familiar with the treacherous influence of Fentanyl Due to a car accident in 2007 Fagan stated I sustained a head injury I had memory problems and had to start over with reading and writing Fagan was then prescribed Fentanyl to manage his chronic headaches I basically trusted the doctors I didn t know I could get addicted to it Fagan C 2016 Fagan was a victim of Fentanyl s deadly grasp for seven years with his addiction hindering and taking control he began to eat his slow releasing fentanyl patches to get high quickly In the course of time Fagan overdosed and realized it was time to seek help With Fagan being sober since 2015 along with his experience and desire to help others Fagan opened his own addiction treatment facility in 2016 and is now the CEO of a treatment and detox facility in 2017 As a whole it is evident that Fentanyl is threatening and addictive regardless of the user With the knowledge and expertise statistics why does Canadian governments still continue to fund produce and market this murderous drug This is a question asked by many and answered by few with exceptional technology and experts working at hand it is still unclear why Canada is unable to scientifically create a chronic pain reliever without lethal side effects

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