Abstract

The opioid pandemic swept through the United States in the early 2000’s, causing many to fight a battle with addiction. A drug that has been dated back to the 1860s found a new life where it was thought to give patients better access to pain management. This would prove true, but the consequences that would come with this were far graver than the benefits. Between 1999 and 2010 the amount of opioid related deaths more than doubled from 2.9 deaths per 100,000 people to 6.8 deaths per 100,000 people. Since 1999 more than six hundred thousand people have lost their life due to opioid overdose. The effects have been documented through years of research by a multitude of different organizations. Many organizations, including the FDA, CDC, health organizations around the world, and multiple prestigious universities have released research on the adverse effects that the opioids have caused. These studies have shown that children are being introduced to drugs at younger ages causing the children’s death rates due to drugs to increase. Since being introduced in 1996 opioid overdose deaths have risen to almost one hundred thousand deaths per year. This has also been linked to being a part of the mental health crisis, through addiction. The studies provided often point out the negative effects the drug has caused and fail to point out the positive outcomes it has been able to accomplish in pain management when used correctly. Since the crisis began families have been torn apart from by addiction and overuse of the drug. The drug has also been linked to causing an increase in crime rate, a major issue we face today in the United States. Opioid has been shown to be link significantly to many problems we face today. Research will be pulled from many different bodies of work; most will come from research studies done by some of the top universities and organizations in the world today. Some of the researchers include the CDC, FDA, FBI, Stanford University, the World Health Organization, along with multiple other entities. What caused the drug to be so addictive, and how could this have been prevented to allow it to provide more positive outcomes when used in a patient’s treatment? What organizations are to blame for the regulations not being adequate to protect patients from abusing the drug? This paper will focus on opioid use, and the subsequent abuse in the healthcare field.

Year Manuscript Completed

Spring 2024

Senior Project Advisor

Mr.George Michael Barton

Degree Awarded

Bachelor of Integrated Studies Degree

Field of Study

Social Sciences

Document Type

Thesis

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