Opioids-bigger terror threat?

There is an opioid epidemic in the United States and the government is working to address it. Recently, the Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, held its first meeting in June to address this crisis. Statistics have revealed that more people in the US die from opioid addiction than due to gun violence and car accident.

Background

A state wide opioid health emergency is being implemented in Arizona, United States as the crisis has escalated in this region. Arizona, based on an executive order, will now start releasing opioid related statistics every Monday. It has been reported that in the period of one week, there were close to 200 opioid overdoses, 15 have been reported dead in the state recently.

In 2014, in Staten Island, accidental overdose due to this drug accounted for more than one hundred deaths.

Dr. Regan Nichols, a doctor from Oklahoma, was arrested in June and has been charged with five counts of second-degree murder after she allegedly over-prescribed large amounts of narcotics to her patients. Three of the victims were prescribed a deadly combination of three drugs - narcotic opioid pain reliever, an anti-anxiety drug and a muscle relaxer.

The US accounts for 5% of the global population but consumes 85% of all opioids. The US National Centre for Health and Statistics has revealed that in the year 2015, there were 50,000 drug related deaths in the US, of which 30,000 were related to the use of opioids.

What are opioids?

Synthetic opioids are substances that affect the nervous system in the human body; they act on opioid receptors on nerve cells in the body and brain to induce a similar effect like that of morphine. They are normally prescribed to relieve pain but when taken in greater quantities, it can lead to a drug overdose.

The human body also produces natural opioids like endorphins, which is the body’s feel-good chemical and a natural pain killer. The opioids that are naturally produced by the body cannot produce enough to stop severe or chronic pain, so they cannot cause an overdose.

Analysis

According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), synthetic opioids are a class of drugs that include illegal drugs like heroin. Regular use of these drugs can lead to dependence and when misused can lead to death. 

Synthetic Opioids are much stronger than endorphins and when used repeatedly, they suppress the effects of endorphins making the human body immune to natural stimulus.

The addiction to prescription opioids begins with some kind of physical ailment – like a backache or knee injury. As a result, doctors trying to be empathetic to patients’ complaints may overprescribe opioid painkillers. In 2015, 91 people in the US died each day due to overdoses from prescription painkillers, heroin, fentanyl and other opioids.

Assessment

Our assessment is that without an objective scale for measuring pain, doctors are hampered in treating patients with chronic discomfort. Pain is subjectively perceived; it is very difficult to evaluate the treatment required. This difficulty or the lack of proper communication in the medical realm is commonly referred to as ‘information asymmetry’. It has serious consequences as the failure to understand the impact of the drugs prescribed can be a tragic cause of death.

People, who intentionally resort to drug overdose, are most likely making a conscious decision but even then, there should be a common platform for people to gain access to medical awareness to understand better the impact of the drugs prescribed by doctors. Medical workshops and forums should be instituted for the public to gain access to real information. The state governments should also ensure the participation of doctors and practitioners in the effort to remove the information asymmetry in this field and also to enhance a deep sense of responsibility on their part.