Drug Use And Health During The Civil War - 1585 Words

The history of opioids in America provides a reoccurring theme riddled with misuse, abuse, and addiction. One could even go as far as to call it a timeless theme, as the same problems that affected the past still stand steadfast today. It all started in 1806 with the isolation of Morphine by chemist Friedrich Sertà ¼rner (Acock, 1993). Soon after its creation, this analgesic opiate became the primary treatment in the United States for various medical ailments including pain, anxiety, and respiratory problems (Acock, 1993). Acock (1993) reveals that opioids were widely used during the Civil War, with numbers reaching up to ten million opioid pills for the Union Army alone. Morphine was essentially the cure-all on the battlefield. The result†¦show more content†¦According to the Department of Health and Human services, over 650,000 opioid prescriptions are dispensed in one day. This translates to around 230 million prescriptions each year. This amount just barely falls shor t of being high enough to give every adult in the United States their own bottle of opioid pills. The loose prescribing habits of medical professionals are to blame for these absurdly high numbers. Current doctors will prescribe an opiate-based painkiller for anything from a backache, toothache, to even headaches. To give patients â€Å"highly addictive† drugs for low scale chronic pain over the three-days recommended max incurs high risk for tolerance, dependence, and potential addiction to opioids. Some would argue that doctors are simply doing their job by solving their patient’s pain problem and that people should not intrude upon a medical professional’s expertise. However, while doctors should be unbiased pillars of medical advice and treatment, they should also take into account the risks involved with their treatment for their patient’s sake. Particularly for opioid prescriptions, doctors should have to abide by dosing criteria, receive guidance o n when to seek consultation, and know how to use their state’s prescription drug monitoring program (Alexander et al., 2015). According to Alexander et al., (2015) Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) are underutilized by 81% of all prescribers.Show MoreRelatedDrug Abuse Has Become A Real Problem1235 Words   |  5 Pagesworld today, drug abuse has become a real problem. In the 1800s there was a drug called opium that was commonly used. Opium came from the poppy seed plant and became very popular here in America, starting in the west. There used to be opium dens where cowhands would stop and stay and smoke opium. From opium, along came the drug morphine. Morphine was derived from the drug opium and was also introduced in America in the 1800s. Morphine became a very popular pain killer in America during that time, andRead MoreThe Modern War On Drugs977 Words   |  4 PagesModern War on Drugs In the past forty years, the United States has spent over $2.5 trillion dollars funding enforcement and prevention in the fight against drug use in America (Suddath). Despite the efforts made towards cracking down on drug smugglers, growers, and suppliers, statistics show that addiction rates have remained unchanged and the number of people using illegal drugs is increasing daily (Sledge). Regardless of attempts to stem the supply of drugs, the measure and quality of drugs goesRead MoreAmerica s War On Drugs1539 Words   |  7 Pages On June 17th, 1971, President Richard Nixon declared drug abuse to be â€Å"America’s Public Enemy #1† in a press conference in which he called for an â€Å"all out offensive† against this enemy, an initiative that would later be known as America’s War on Drugs. 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The goals of the criminal justice system in the war on drugs haveRead MoreThe Heroin Epidemic Of America1565 Words   |  7 Pagesthe heroin epidemic truly began in the Wild West during the 1800’s. Many scholars believe that Chinese immigrants brought the drug to America. Morphine is a derivative of heroin, and during the civil war, many soldiers, both northern and confederate, was injured and became addicted to the drug after being treated with it. It was from opium that morphine, a derivative, was developed as a pain killer in approximately 1810. It was considered a wonder drug because it eliminated severe pain associated withRead MoreRacial Profiling And The Civil War On Drugs1342 Words   |  6 Pages1700s in the United States for people of African descent. Many equate the war on drugs as the beginning of the use of the term â€Å"racial profiling.† The war on drugs gained momentum in the 1980s, with the introduction of crack cocaine into black communities. Thus the most recent incarnation of the â€Å"Racial Profiling† began in 1982 under Ronald Reagan â€Å"War on Drugs† (while drug use and crimes were on the decline) (5). The drug war was primarily fought from partisan political motives as a show of forceRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?923 Words   |  4 Pageslabor pains, nausea, and rheumatism. It wasn’t until 1970 when the Controlled Substances Act passed, classifying marijuana along with heroin and other illegal substances as a Schedule 1 Drug. Yet, people argue that marijuana prohibition is unfair and goes against their civil liberties; others think that marijuana use is dangerous and addictive and believe it shouldn’t be legalized. Numerous studies demonstrates that no one has ever died of a marijuana overdoes and experiments found that marijuana is