Opioid analgesics are both a blessing and a curse. Being well-known pain killers, there is no doubt that they are very effective in alleviating pain but at the same time, their high potency makes the users susceptible to overdose and expose the users to high addictive potentials. Most common pain killers are used to treat pain, suppress cough, and induce anesthesia. Some of the common opioid painkillers include – Morphine, Codeine, Fetanyl, Hydrocodone (Vicodin), and Ocycodone (OxyContin, Percocet, and Percodan).
- http://abcnews.go.com/Health
Addiction and death from opioid overdose has been increasing during the past decade. According to the article “Curtailing Diversion and Abuse of Opioid Analgesics Without Jeopardizing Pain Treatment” in JAMA magazine, since 2002, the US prevalence of high school seniors reporting past-year nonmedical use of opioids has been 8% to 10% for hydrocodone and 4% to 5% for oxycodone. Hydrocone abuse is second only to Marijuana abuse. The article also reports that “emergency department visits related to pharmaceutical opioids have increased from 144 644 to 305 885, between 2004 and 2008, and unintentional opioid-related overdose deaths have increased from about 3000 to 12 000 between 1999 and 2007 which is more than either heroin or cocaine overdose”. According to the article, opioid overdose is now the second leading cause of unintentional death in the United States, second only to motor vehicle crashes.
So, how do these effective medications have addictive and lethal potentials? Let’s take a little look into what these opiates do in the body. The opiates are the substances that can activate the opioid receptors in the brain. Opioid receptors activation is important in eliciting pleasurable or ‘rewarding’ feelings. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter important in inducing pleasurable effects. Dopamine neurons are richly present in the brain areas Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA) and Nucleus Accumbens (NC). Opioid receptors are also present in these areas and the binding of opiates can cause the activation of dopaminergic neurons and subsequent release of dopamine which result in producing rewarding or pleasurable feelings. Hence, effects of opioids are not only pain-relieving but also addicting and make the users susceptible to overdose.
- http://quizlet.com/4038817/b8w2-neurobiology-of-addiction-and-reward
Hence, there should be general education to the public about the safe use of opioid analgesics even though these are prescribed by physicians. These medications should be prescribed with strict regulations and the patients should be well-informed about their side effects and safety margin before they take the medication. It is important not to take any medication without caution and decent knowledge about the potential risks that come together with therapeutic effects. Especially, when it comes to highly potent and addictive drugs like pain killers, we should take extra-care before taking them and consult with a physician before doing so.
