Throughout its development and cultivation, opium has had a vast multitude of uses varying from being used as an intoxicant to being used for medicinal purposes. In the United States, opium has long been overprescribed, and abuse of it is on the rise. Much of this addiction has happened from the late 90’s and continues to have a grasp on the country today. From being prescribed by doctors, to getting it on the street corner, opium and the various forms of it are one of the most lethal drugs on the market in term of potency and sheer addiction. Opium is a highly addictive narcotic drug acquired in the dried latex form from the opium poppy.1
The use of opium spans almost as far back as humanity itself, but has received much more publicity as of late not only for the good things which it is doing, but also for the negative aspects which become encompassed within the drug, spanning from addiction to overdose, and even death. Opium comes in many different forms and is disseminated throughout our society through varying legal and illicit means whether it be in the form of heroin, codeine, morphine, OxyContin, or any of the other forms. It can be argued that the road to addiction begins with its prescription to people by doctors. Between 26.4 million and 36 million people abuse opioids worldwide, with approximately 2.1 million of the people who suffer being in the United States alone.2
One of the ways in which opiate abuse, whether illicit or narcotic has grown in our society is through over prescription by doctors. Approximately one in five patients who go to a doctor’s office with pain are given a prescription for some form of opiate medication.3 This is astonishing as one can lie about their pain j4ust to receive some of the strongest medications on the market. Within this, the ease of access to opium becomes startling for more reasons than one. Whilst opioids and other narcotics do a great job of taking away a patient’s pain, they are also some of the most addicting substances prescribed. This over prescription is present in the statement that the number of prescriptions written for opioids has risen from seventy-six million in 1991 to nearly two-hundred and seven million in 2013.4 As a result, the number of overdoses in relation to opioid usage and poisoning were more prominent than overdoses from cocaine and heroin combined. Some people in fact go to the doctors seeking out these drugs not for themselves, but to sell them for their own profits. Following the removal of my wisdom teeth, I received a prescription for Norcos, another strong opioid, of which I only used one pill. I had mentioned to one of my coworkers at the time that I was not using them because I did not like how they made me feel. Immediately, she offered to buy them off me. This is shocking to me, because as a 21-year-old female, she was not necessarily addicted but she was so eager to buy them off me which can essentially be one of the first steps on the road to addiction. Her sheer reliance on them to get through a day, and mixing them with alcohol was something that I found disturbing. At such a young age, she had already begun to develop addictive tendencies to these opioids. In many cases, it is through addictions to these prescription drugs which eventually lead to the addiction to other opiate drugs, such as heroin. In addition to pills, there are also other forms of opioids which many are currently finding themselves addicted to.
Another form of opioid medication which is continually abused is codeine, which has come to play a huge part in the development of new forms and genres of rap music. The views which have come t4o surround codeine, or the more coined term “lean,” which is a combination of codeine and other drinks 4such as soda. Codeine, which is intended to be a painkiller is one of the most overly abused drugs in the rap community. It can be argued that through rap, many of these narcotics become glorified and play a role in society which no longer necessarily frowns upon the use of these drugs. It has essentially become a way of life, and in some cases, been argued to have been a way for these artists to tap into their inner creativity. In this sense, this can be seen throughout history including the use of laudanum. Laudanum which was a combination of both alcohol and opium continues to be one of the most potent painkillers and essentially is created unintentionally still with people combining both alcohol and opiate prescription. Much of modern drug use does not come by itself, rather a combination of different intoxicants to chase that new high. This drug culture is one which has been desensitized and become glorified. In many cases, we hear people constantly trying to one up each other in how intoxicated they were as if it is a measure of how good of a time they had. The existence of drugs in music is one which is unavoidable, however the different drugs which are essentially being promoted are the main problem as people are not entirely aware of the side effects of their actions and unaware of the potential ramifications which in some instances can even cause death.
Although many of these medications are legal and prescribed with the best of intentions, there are side effects which cause for varying differences in terms of how they will react. Despite their knowledge, many of these narcotics, such as OxyContin effect the brain in the same way as heroin, and morphine.5 Due to this, people find themselves unintentionally addicted, and essentially reliant on them for survival. Heroin, is one of the few drugs where someone can die from symptoms of withdrawal.6 This is rather interesting, as it serves a very good purpose in terms of the potency of these medications. Another aspect I find interesting is the fact that these drugs are legal, when there are other means of prescription which would serve similar purposes without the brutal side effects which come hand in hand with the prescription of opium. One such alternative is the use of medical marijuana, which has similar pain relieving qualities to opioids, without the addictive qualities. Arguably, it is the addictive qualities of opium which make these prescriptions not only successful, but rather a necessary evil for the medical companies. The United States alone consumes approximately eighty percent of the global opioid supply.7 In this, the opiate market becomes a nearly twenty-four-billion-dollar industry. The cost of opioids and of their effects on our society have risen substantially from approximately twenty-two billion in 1996. This twenty-two billion was from heroin abuse only, and did not include other forms of opium abuse. In addition to these twenty-four billion dollars, there is an estimated seventy-five-billion-dollar cost annually in health costs in relation to nonmedical opioid uses.8 In some patients’ cases, these medications cannot be replaced, despite their negative effects. As stated before, the addiction which connotates these drugs serve to be a debilitating consequence which t6he medical companies not only accept, but profit from. Much of the misused prescriptions come from legally written prescriptions. In addition to this, “about 99 percent of physicians exceed the recommended three-day dosage limit, with a quarter of them writing prescriptions for a full month.”9 In this study alone people to the sheer exposure people are given to these opioids, essentially causing for addiction in themselves without th10eir knowledge. Pharmaceutical companies carry out campaigns to not only downplay the side effects of opioid abuse, but also to outline the good they do for the patient. This can be related to our modern-day society and the fact that everything is about instant gratification. If you’re doing your job, you deserve this. If you’re in pain, you will receive a prescription. This is presented in the statistic earlier which displays that approximately 80 percent of the worlds opioid medication is consumed by the United States alone.10 Although there is a presentation of some of the good qualities, there are many negative properties which far outweigh the good. The worst of which is the addictive qualities of these medications.
Following the addiction to pain killers, many people find these to eventually be obsolete in their effects. I got a prescription for Vicodin when I hurt my back, says Max a recovering pain pill abuser. Vicodin didn’t just ease the pain, it also made me worry less about family and my business.11 When people become reliant upon something that is so suddenly removed from them and they are no longer able to cope with pain they seek out the next option to relieve their pain. In many instances, it results in a combination of opioids, or even resorting to the use of heroin. This happened in the story of Mark, a man who began with a back injury who was prescribed OxyContin for pain relief.12 While he began by taking these medications for the pain, it eventually became something far more sinister and taxing within his life. He had become reliant on the use of opium, not for pain, but as a way for him to make it through the day. Following his doctors discontinued prescription of these painkillers, he proceeded to seek out heroin. At first he refused to inject the heroin and was merely snorting it seeking to achieve this similar rush, however as time went on he was yet again developing a sort of resistance to the drugs. Eventually he began to shoot up these drugs. In using heroin, these people are not only achieving that same pain relief, but also an increased sense of euphoria. Much of this reliance comes from the pain itself, in addition to the actual anatomy of our brain including its chemical structure and dopamine. Whilst some people can stop themselves prior to their addiction becoming full-fledged, there are others who are not and much of this is due to a mental addiction. As well as this, many users of these drugs find themselves in a circle of depression and desperation as they begin to lose everything and have nothin13g left in their life other than the euphoria which these drugs bring about. Dopamine is a chemical that occurs naturally in the body, upon its release the body experiences senses of euphoria. With the introduction of opium to the blood stream, the body releases dopamine in mass amounts. This happens normally within the brain, however there is also a negative feedback response which limits the amount of dopamine released. These opioids serve the purpose of blocking the receptors which stop the body from continuing the release of dopamine. In doing so, these people do not experience this negative feedback response and just experience unparalleled levels of euphoria. Heroin is the most potent of the opioid drugs and causes for the greatest sense of euphoria, it is also the most successful in terms of killing pain.13 Despite this, it is extremely dangerous in various ways. One of which is in terms of addiction. In the same way in which the pain killing effects are amplified, so are the addictive qualities. Amongst all drugs, heroin is considered one of, if not the most addictive as many people become addicted after their first dose.14 In addition to the addictive qualities, it is like other opioids in the sense that people begin to develop a tolerance for these drugs and eventually begin to consume them in greater and greater quantities, or by mixing them with other drugs to receive this same effect. This is due to the damage which it causes on the brain. Many of the inhibitors become damaged and thus the body begins to release less and less dopamine, resulting in a lesser high.15 In addition to effect on the brain, opium also causes for constipation in the body, as well as developing a sense of well-being for people who are not.16 Whilst there are many negative side effects that heroin use can induce in the individual, there are also negative aspects which can affect society, such as unemployment and theft. Much of the concern which people place in these drugs stems from the young and of the threat which they bring to their future.17 In many cases, drug abuse stems from the first try which causes for an unintentional yet dangerous spiral.
Heroin use and much of it stems from intravenous use, which brings about many other complications such as a collapsing of veins, and an inflammation of the heart. Within intravenous use there is a massively increased chance of contraction of HIV/AIDS. In addition to the increase of chances through intravenous uses, the chance of contraction is also increased through sex with someone who uses heroin. This poses a huge risk to anyone who comes into contact to someone who uses heroin as they can be carrying disease without their knowledge, and may also be contaminating others without knowledge of it happening. Another way in which intravenous heroin users put others at risk is in disposal of their needles. In many cases, they are ignorant of the disposal of these needles leading to innocent people to getting injected by not only these drugs, but also being exposed to potential disease.
In similarity to the way in which heroin addiction must be treated, we as a nation must be taken off these drugs slowly and over time to bring about a more fruitful and productive society. It is only through counteracting corporate greed, and of people learning to cope with pain in other means than taking pain killers. If eighty percent of the worlds opioid consumption comes from the United States alone, then it is apparent that we as a nation are using this for sake of convenience rather than out of actual necessity. Much of the rest of the world does not need this, neither do we.
Bibliography:
- Abuse, National Institute on Drug. “America’s Addiction to Opioids: Heroin and Prescription Drug Abuse.” NIDA. May 14, 2014. Accessed April 20, 2017. https://www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/legislative-activities/testimony-to-congress/2016/americas-addiction-to-opioids-heroin-prescription-drug-abuse.
- Courtwright, David T. Forces of habit: drugs and the making of the modern world. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2001.
- Dowell, D. “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. March 18, 2016. Accessed April 27, 2017. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/rr/rr6501e1.htm.
- Gusovsky, Dina. “Americans still lead the world in something: Use of highly addictive opioids.” CNBC. April 27, 2016. Accessed April 20, 2017. http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/27/americans-consume-almost-all-of-the-global-opioid-supply.html.
- Mark, Tami L, George E Woody, Tim Juday, and Herbert D Kleber. 2001. The Economic Costs of Heroin Addiction in the United States. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 61, no. 2: 195-206.
- NOM, Mike. “Pain Pill Addiction – Mikes Story.” Heroin Addiction Stories. March 29, 2017. Accessed April 20, 2017. https://heroinaddictionstories.com/mikes-story/.
- “Opium: Uses, Addiction Treatment & Side Effects.” Drugs.com. Accessed April 20, 2017. https://www.drugs.com/illicit/opium.html.
- “Pain medicine addiction: “All I wanted was more of the drug.”.” Easy to Read Drug Facts. December 07, 2016. Accessed April 20, 2017. https://easyread.drugabuse.gov/content/pain-medicine-addiction-all-i-wanted-was-more-drug.
- Smale, R. “Addiction and creativity: from laudanum to recreational drugs.” Journal Of Psychiatric & Mental Health Nursing 8, no. 5 (October 2001): 459-463. CINAHL Plus with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed April 20, 2017).