Response essay for a pharmaceuticals course.
Opioid addictions are not a new affliction in human history. It can be argued that opioid addictions in Ancient China were a symptom of the culture that promoted its use as it was easily accessible for people throughout the socioeconomic hierarchies. Given that there were multiple wars fought regarding opium specifically, it is safe to conclude that there was an emphasis on opium as a financial boost that also fed people’s addictions. The efforts and ambition to access opioids in Ancient China, South Asia, and Europe are volatile to understanding the ambition for access to them today. Combining the facts that opioids were generally more accessible in Ancient China and there was less research indicating the negative impacts, it is curious that opioid addiction rates are as high as they are in the contemporary world, more specifically in California.
To gauge a more informed perspective about why opioid rates are significant in California, it is necessary to explore the demographics of who is impacted. A 2018 article reveals that opioid-related deaths are a widespread epidemic impacting affluent and poorer areas, but is more defined in lower-income areas (Marshall et al., 2018). Though this longitudinal study exclusively discusses opioid abuse in Orange County, California, the data can be applied to other counties in California as “opioid addiction is a disease that does not recognize geographic boundaries,” (Marshall et al., 2018). It is dangerous that opioid abuse is a socioeconomically widespread epidemic because it becomes difficult to propose solutions without a clear correlation between certain lifestyle traits and opioid abuse. For example, a low-income mother is more likely to steal baby formula because it is a necessity for her. A possible solution for this would be to make baby food more accessible. Opioid abuse, however, has the propensity to impact more than a single demographic, even if the likelihood of abuse increases with certain lifestyles. Targeting specific traits such as poverty would deem unproductive with the opioid epidemic in the larger scheme because the gateway into opioid abuse is not exclusive to poverty.
The second half of understanding the high rates of opioid abuse in California explores how and why opioids are so accessible to people in varying socioeconomic classes. This is especially interesting because many drugs are classified socially; marijuana is a poor man’s drug, and cocaine is a rich man’s. Opioid abuse doesn’t fit into these categories because anyone can be at risk for abusing opioids. However, tracing how addicts are introduced to opioids proves insightful in proposing solutions to prevent increasing rates. A CDC press release reveals that a noticeable percentage of opioid addicts gain an interest in the drug after being prescribed it (2014). Once prescribed, family members or friends risk abusing the drug if they dabble. These two groups are at the highest risk of becoming addicted because their accessibility and proximity to the substance are inflated. The CDC proposes that for these two groups, a preventative measure could be conducting more in-depth screenings of patients with a social or genetic inclination to develop an addiction. Given the research that has gone into opioid abuse, it is concerning that policies are still struggling to prevent and decrease abuse.
Though the future of opioid abuse and addiction seems bleak, I digress that it is a hopeless endeavor. Researching and exploring the culture of opioid abuse is a substantial foundation for curing it as they give insight into the issue. There is hope in decreasing opioid abuse rates when the disease is more holistically understood. Because the gateway into opioid abuse is generally vague, it is necessary to do more case-specific research as this would promote a diverse preventative plan in lieu of a one-size-fits-all ideology. It remains important that opioid addicts are not ostracized for their affliction, rather they should be regarded with more sympathy; addicts do not become addicts of their own volition. Differences in the culture of opioid practices between Ancient China and modern California can be summarized in the research that has been put into action. Perhaps the perspectives on opioid wars and usage would be different if the substance was villainized as it is today.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014, April 10). Physicians are a leading source of
prescription opioids for the highest-risk users. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved October 4, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2014/p0303-prescription-opioids.html.
Marshall, J. R., Gassner, S. F., Anderson, C. L., Cooper, R. J., Lotfipour, S., & Chakravarthy, B. (2018).
Socioeconomic and geographical disparities in prescription and illicit opioid-related overdose deaths in Orange County, California, from 2010–2014. Substance Abuse, 40(1), 80–86. https://doi.org/10.1080/08897077.2018.1442899.
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