Related Research Articles
Oxycodone,sold under various brand names such as Roxicodone and OxyContin,is a strong,semi-synthetic opioid used medically for treatment of moderate to severe pain. It is highly addictive and is a commonly abused drug. It is usually taken by mouth,and is available in immediate-release and controlled-release formulations. Onset of pain relief typically begins within fifteen minutes and lasts for up to six hours with the immediate-release formulation. In the United Kingdom,it is available by injection. Combination products are also available with paracetamol (acetaminophen),ibuprofen,naloxone,naltrexone,and aspirin.
The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) is a weekly medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It is among the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals as well as the oldest continuously published one.
Opioids are substances that act on opioid receptors to produce morphine-like effects. Medically they are primarily used for pain relief,including anesthesia. Other medical uses include suppression of diarrhea,replacement therapy for opioid use disorder,reversing opioid overdose,and suppressing cough. Extremely potent opioids such as carfentanil are approved only for veterinary use. Opioids are also frequently used non-medically for their euphoric effects or to prevent withdrawal. Opioids can cause death and have been used for executions in the United States.
Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a substance use disorder characterized by cravings for opioids,continued use despite physical and/or psychological deterioration,increased tolerance with use,and withdrawal symptoms after discontinuing opioids. Opioid withdrawal symptoms include nausea,muscle aches,diarrhea,trouble sleeping,agitation,and a low mood. Addiction and dependence are important components of opioid use disorder.
A methadone clinic is a medical facility where medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) are dispensed-—historically and most commonly methadone,although buprenorphine is also increasingly prescribed. Medically assisted drug therapy treatment is indicated in patients who are opioid-dependent or have a history of opioid dependence. Methadone is a schedule II (USA) opioid analgesic,that is also prescribed for pain management. It is a long-acting opioid that can delay the opioid withdrawal symptoms that patients experience from taking short-acting opioids,like heroin,and allow time for withdrawal management. In the United States,by law,patients must receive methadone under the supervision of a physician,and dispensed through an Opioid Treatment Program (OTP) certified by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Purdue Pharma L.P.,formerly the Purdue Frederick Company (1892–2019),was an American privately held pharmaceutical company founded by John Purdue Gray. It was sold to Arthur,Mortimer and Raymond Sackler in 1952,and then owned principally by the Sackler family,and their descendants.
An opioid overdose is toxicity due to excessive consumption of opioids,such as morphine,codeine,heroin,fentanyl,tramadol,and methadone. This preventable pathology can be fatal if it leads to respiratory depression,a lethal condition that can cause hypoxia from slow and shallow breathing. Other symptoms include small pupils,and unconsciousness,however its onset can depend on the method of ingestion,the dosage and individual risk factors. Although there were over 110,000 deaths in 2017 due to opioids,individuals who survived also faced adverse complications,including permanent brain damage.
In the United States,prescription monitoring programs (PMPs) or prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) are state-run programs which collect and distribute data about the prescription and dispensation of federally controlled substances and,depending on state requirements,other potentially abusable prescription drugs. PMPs are meant to help prevent adverse drug-related events such as opioid overdoses,drug diversion,and substance abuse by decreasing the amount and/or frequency of opioid prescribing,and by identifying those patients who are obtaining prescriptions from multiple providers or those physicians overprescribing opioids.
The Woozle effect,also known as evidence by citation,occurs when a source is widely cited for a claim it does not adequately support,giving said claim undeserved credibility. If results are not replicated and no one notices that a key claim was never well-supported in its original publication,faulty assumptions may affect further research.
In the United States,the opioid epidemic is an extensive ongoing overuse of opioid medications,both from medical prescriptions and illegal sources. The epidemic began in the United States in the late 1990s,according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),when opioids were increasingly prescribed for pain management,resulting in a rise in overall opioid use throughout subsequent years. The great majority of Americans who use prescription opioids do not believe that they are misusing them.
"Addiction Rare in Patients Treated with Narcotics" is the title of a letter to the editor written by Jane Porter and Hershel Jick and published in the January 10,1980,issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. The letter analyzed data on patients who had been treated with opioids in a hospital setting,and concluded that addiction was uncommon among such patients. It has since been frequently misrepresented to claim that opioids are not addictive when prescribed for use at home,which has been blamed for contributing to the opioid epidemic in the United States.
Richard Stephen Sackler is an American billionaire businessman and physician who was the chairman and president of Purdue Pharma,a former company best known as the developer of OxyContin,whose connection to the opioid epidemic in the United States was the subject of multiple lawsuits and fines,and that filed for bankruptcy in 2019. It has been claimed that Richard Sackler's Purdue is among ”the worst drug dealers in history”and the Sackler family have been described as the "most evil family in America". The company's downfall was the subject of the 2023 Netflix series Painkiller.
Beth Macy is an American journalist and non-fiction writer. She is the author of four published books,including national bestsellers Factory Man (2014) and Dopesick (2018).
The opioid epidemic,also referred to as the opioid crisis,is the rapid increase in the overuse,misuse/abuse,and overdose deaths attributed either in part or in whole to the class of drugs called opiates/opioids since the 1990s. It includes the significant medical,social,psychological,demographic and economic consequences of the medical,non-medical,and recreational abuse of these medications.
Chinazo D. Opia Cunningham is a physician,researcher,and Professor of Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. She is also the Director of Diversity Affairs for the Department of Medicine. She worked on the frontlines during the HIV/AIDS crisis in San Francisco and in 2020 began working on the frontlines of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in New York City. She also specializes in treating patients with addiction,overseeing a network using buprenorphine to treat people with opioid addiction.
Dopesick is an American drama miniseries,created by Danny Strong for Hulu. Based on the non-fiction book Dopesick:Dealers,Doctors,and the Drug Company that Addicted America by Beth Macy,it premiered on October 13,2021,and concluded on November 17,2021,after eight episodes.
Prescription drug addiction is the chronic,repeated use of a prescription drug in ways other than prescribed for,including using someone else’s prescription. A prescription drug is a pharmaceutical drug that may not be dispensed without a legal medical prescription. Drugs in this category are supervised due to their potential for misuse and substance use disorder. The classes of medications most commonly abused are opioids,central nervous system (CNS) depressants and central nervous stimulants. In particular,prescription opioid is most commonly abused in the form of prescription analgesics.
Scott E. Hadland is an American physician and scientist who serves as a pediatrician,and addiction specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School,where he is the Chief of the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine. He previously served as an addiction specialist at the Grayken Center for Addiction at Boston Medical Center.
Curtis Wright IV is an American former government official known for his role in the Food and Drug Administration's approval of OxyContin for Purdue Pharma in 1995,followed by his subsequent employment by the company,which led to portrayals in films and reports in nonfiction books,magazines,and news media outlets of his alleged role as one of the key figures in the current opioid epidemic in the United States. Wright was implicated in a criminal conspiracy outlined in a 2006 United States Department of Justice review document that was first made public in Purdue Pharma's 2019 bankruptcy proceedings. Although that case was settled in a 2007 plea agreement deal,members of United States Congress have requested the full 2006 documentation from the Department of Justice with the goal of opening a new case based upon the evidence then gathered. Parts of Wright's sworn depositions in 2003 and 2018 have internal contradictions and differ from documentary evidence described the 2003–2006 U.S. Federal Government investigation into Purdue Pharma.
In response to the surging opioid prescription rates by health care providers that contributed to the opioid epidemic in the United States,US states began passing legislation to stifle high-risk prescribing practices. These new laws fell primarily into one of the following four categories:
- Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) enrollment laws:prescribers must enroll in their state's PDMP,an electronic database containing a record of all patients' controlled substance prescriptions
- PDMP query laws:prescribers must check the PDMP before prescribing an opioid
- Opioid prescribing cap laws:opioid prescriptions cannot exceed designated doses or durations
- Pill mill laws:pain clinics are closely regulated and monitored to minimize the prescription of opioids non-medically
References
- ↑ Read "Adverse Drug Event Reporting: The Roles of Consumers and Health-Care Professionals: Workshop Summary" at NAP.edu.
- ↑ Cohn, Victor (28 February 1977). "Study Lowers Estimate Of Prescription Drug Toll". The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
- ↑ "How drug companies used 1980 doctor's letter to usher in widespread opioids use". CBS News. Associated Press. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
- ↑ Zhang, Sarah (2017-06-02). "The One-Paragraph Letter From 1980 That Fueled the Opioid Crisis". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
- ↑ Kounang, Nadia (2017-06-01). "One short letter's huge impact on the opioid epidemic". CNN. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
- ↑ Meier, Barry (25 November 2003). "The Delicate Balance Of Pain and Addiction". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
- ↑ Quinones, Sam (21 April 2015). Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic. Bloomsbury USA. p. 107. ISBN 978-1-62040-250-4.
- ↑ "A Guide to the Real-Life Events From Hulu's 'Dopesick'". ELLE. 2022-09-06. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
- ↑ "Hershel Jick". The Lancet. 357 (9264): 1302. April 2001. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(00)04418-4. S2CID 54336907.
