Opioid crisis reflection paper

Document Type:Essay

Subject Area:Criminology

Document 1

Drugs such as buprenorphine and methadone are the best examples of drugs which have been substituted for addictive drugs instead of their treatment purposes. If the medications are just taken for the purposes of medication as prescribed, then the users can heal from a number of disorders. For instance, the youths can be able to keep their jobs, there will be reduced crimes and violence rates and make sound decisions. The use of injected drugs leads to unwanted sexual behavior, exposing the youths to infections such as HIV and other sexual infections. Proper use of the drugs can help the users to reduce their risk of exposing themselves to HIV and other risky sexual behaviors. The practices provide a wide range of options to the patients as well as increasing the reach of medical help to the young people.

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There are a variety of opioid treatments that are used in the outpatient medical settings. Drugs which are used as opioid antagonists helps in preventing the opioids from causing negative effects to the body such as euphoric through binding the opioid receptors. Drugs such as naltrexone have for a long time been used as a treatment for the addiction of opioids. The drug is also used reserve the opioid overdose. The overdose has caused led to deaths of many drug users. The opioid painkillers overuse and abuse have claimed lives of many people directly or indirectly such as through violence. When talking about painkiller overdose, opioids dominates the topic because it is one of the leading painkillers that have been overused. The opioids drugs have also increased the crime rate and violence among marriages.

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The young people have shifted to opioids because they are illicit drugs. The drug use and addiction is the greatest contributor to helpless homeless people on the streets. The misuse of the drug makes the users become hopeless about tomorrow. The users become mentally ill due to the overuse of the opioids, addictive then finally homeless. These people find it difficult to cope up with the family life which requires commitment and struggle. Once they find difficulty in their homes, or some devastating health condition or loss of jobs, they result in the use of opioids and other drugs in an attempt to self-medicate themselves. The stigma view Stigma is a common issue for the opioid users as well as other substance users across the globe. It is the leading cause of discrimination against the drug users.

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The people using the opioid painkiller as an illicit drug are viewed negatively in the society. As a result, the drug users have lowered their self-esteem, broken their relationships with their loved ones, and even denied medical access in some extreme cases. Stigma itself has caused a significant number of deaths among the drug users. The perceived stigma on the opioid drug users has a number of negative social effects in their lives. Chronic discrimination, for instance, has affected their mental and social health significantly. The people using opioid drugs feels rejected by the society and feels pushed away from the normal living environment. They, therefore, lose connection to family and the community. This leads to loneliness living coupled with isolation. The self-stigma discourages them from seeking medical help or from participating in the forums that bring together the society.

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The users also feel less of humans and end up indulging in acts which makes them fail to access proper healthcare services, proper feeding, shelter and normal living standards. The issue of stigma can, however, be fixed from the view of the society. Education programs can be conducted on the people so as they can reduce the stigma against the people using opioid drugs.

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