House Bill 7095, relating to Prescription Drugs or more commonly known as the “Pill Mill Bill” was passed by the Florida Legislature on May 6, 2011, and signed by Governor Rick Scott on June 3, 2011. In essence, H.B. 7095 regulates all facets of the prescribing and dispensing of pain killers and controlled substances, from distributors all the way to pharmacists and doctors. One of the main aspects of the bill is its enforcement of s. 456.44 F.S.; which deals with the dispensing of prescription drugs such as pain killers and controlled substances; by making it a third-degree felony for not abide by the requirements set forth by H.B. 7095. In addition to the penalties H.B. 7095 may issue it also provides other measures to combat the “pill mills” such as the required use of state-approved counterfeit-proof prescription pads, requiring to keep and make available the prescription history of prescribed patients, limiting the amount of controlled substances that can be distributed to pharmacies, and not allowing physicians to dispense controlled substances or pain killers except for emergency purposes.…
Nora D. Volkow gave a visual representation showing that the dispensing of opioids in pharmacies has increased in recent years. Volkow is talking about how bad opioid addiction is. Opioid addiction increases the number of overdoses and more people think it's ok to take pain pills. Prescription medicine can be very helpful to people that are in pain. But too many doctors are writing prescriptions for these people and the pills are too easy to get.…
The Uniform Controlled Substances Act was drafted by the United States Department of Justice in 1969. The Uniform Controlled Substances Act brings together a number of laws regulating the manufacture and distribution of any narcotics. All controlled substances are placed in five different schedules, based on medicinal values, harmfulness and potential for abuse or addiction. Narcotics can be refer to as opium and have semi-synthetic substitutes such as; heroin, oxycontin, vicodin, codeine, morphine and fentanyl. Narcotics “opioids” medical uses are prescribed by doctors to treat pain, suppress cough, cure diarrhea and help as a sleep aid. Other manufacture and distribution drugs are stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, anabolic steroids…
The existence of heroin has been around for ages. Consuming America and everyone inside. “The CDC has shown a dramatic rise in the heroin epidemic” (Newscaster). The epidemic has been building up for a while. However, heroin didn’t pop up out of the blue. Before, pain was relieved by a variety of opiates. They were easy to obtain and legal. Purdue Pharma, a huge, invested drug company, introduced an opiate called oxycontin to doctors. The company, Purdue Pharma “took the…
Opiates are highly addictive powerful drugs that are derived from the poppy plant and are generally used to relieve pain (mayo clinic). There are two types of opiates, natural and man-made. Though both are prescribed by physicians with the exception of heroin, often times when dealing with someone that has become addicted they are obtained illegally. Because of the potential for prescribed…
Perhaps the article wanted to focus on the prescriber’s side of this ethical issue but it is important to note that the pharmacist plays a crucial role. While the physician is prescribing the opioids, it is the pharmacist that often takes the heat if there is an issue with the prescription. From personal experiences, I have observed how situations can turn ugly quick when the pharmacist cannot fill an opioid prescription for whatever reason. This could be due to the insurance not paying for it because it is too early to fill or the pharmacist suspecting that the patient is a drug seeker due to multiple scripts from different providers. In a small town like Milford, the pharmacist could play a role in monitoring how much and how often a patient fills their opioid prescriptions. They could look for trends such as early refills, which could indicate the patient is either a seeker or their pain is not adequately controlled. Pharmacists could also use their knowledge of medications to assist physicians design alternative therapies for adequate pain control. This is an example of the value of altruism in which the pharmacist can establish a positive and respectful relationship with the physician in order to provide the best care for their patients (Haddad). It is unfortunate that some patients will not be able to get adequate pain control with the new restricting guidelines. As the last patient of Dr. Wergin explained, “the people who are abusing these medications are ruining it for the rest of us.”…
Focusing on the small problems in life causes more issues than anything else, and can block out the bigger problems that need to be addressed. The opioids were the big problems in the skit, and even though the parents found their child with a big problems, they turned back to focusing on the small issues, and the larger problem of opioids continued to build up.…
public health.”(Quinones 249) It is difficult to establish the fact that more fatal problem is the widespread addiction to prescription painkillers. Moreover, the suppliers of these drugs are respectable physicians, primary doctors and behind them, multibillion-dollar pharmaceutical companies. Purdue Pharma, as one of the pharmaceutical companies, making on abuse OxyContin [contain large doses of oxycodone that is similar to heroin], as legitimate use as s painkiller in a medical field that lead to the actual overdose deaths and rise in criminal activity in society. Mark Mariani, a writer and educator based in Hoboken, New Jersey, states the facts in his article How the American Opiate Epidemic Was Started by One Pharmaceutical Company, “on December 12, 1995, the Food and Drug Administration approved the opioid analgesic OxyContin. It hit the market in 1996. In its first year, OxyContin accounted for $45 million in sales for its manufacturer, Stamford, Connecticut-based pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma.” () Mariani's point is that, these OxyContin that was intended to revolutionize the treatment of…
Opiates are a group of narcotics that contain opium or natural synthetic opium (Shoenfeld, 2012). Some of the commonly abused opiates include: Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Heroin, Codeine, Morphine, and Methadone as well as many other pain medications. They can be crushed and snorted, taken orally, and even injected. The most restrictive legally available drugs are the opiates Methadone and Morphine (Shoenfeld, 2012). They are prescribed for severe pain. Individuals can be prescribed methadone as an option for treatment but in reality is highly addictive and commonly abused.…
Schedule II drugs are currently accepted for medical use in the United States. These drugs have many medical benefits, but are highly addictive and dangerous if not used correctly. They are classified by their ability to cause serious physical or physiological dependency. The drugs in this category include, but are not limited to, Adderall, Lortab, Vicodin, Hydrocodone, Percocet, and OxyContin. Many of these drugs are sold, illegally, on the streets. This only allows more people to feed the addiction that can result from the over-use of these type of drugs.…
For millennia, chronic and acute severe pain treatment has been effective with opioids and in most places, they are a standard care. Conversely, continued opioid uses have brought about concerns on its safety, abuse liability and effectiveness which drive warning perceptions leading to a higher degree of the willingness to approve this treatment means. In the United States, the past decades have witnessed the shift of attitudes in response to epidemiological and clinical observations manifested in the regulatory and legal spheres.1,2The legitimate medical opioids use for analgesia purposes and abuse or addiction interface challenges the clinical profession hence uncertainty on the appropriate opioid role in pain treatment. The National Institute…
Opioids such as OxyContin and Vicodin, are the most widespread prescribed painkiller for the treatment of moderate to chronic pain. While opioids are highly effective in masking the pain temporarily, these drugs are highly addictive. Many patients, especially those who take more than the prescribed amount, often develop a dependency on these drugs, resulting in addiction. There is growing evidence that opioid drugs are being widely prescribed and abused, causing an increase in healthcare costs. To help fight the growing dependency and addiction to these drugs, doctors should take more time explaining the many harmful side effects of these drugs to their patients before prescribing them, In addition, doctors should be up front with their patients about the likelihood of developing tolerance to the drugs, which ultimately leads to dependency. Since there is widespread abuse of these drugs, opioid prescriptions should continue…
When I learned about the issues regarding oxybenzone, I was appalled. To think that something so potentially dangerous has been so widely accepted for so long is nothing short of troubling. My goal in this is as follows: create a campaign which will start a movement away from toxic suntan lotions and usher in a wave of sustainable products. This is important for a multitude of reasons. First of all, chemicals like oxybenzone are detrimental to coral reefs. Research has found that these chemicals can kill of juvenile coral, cause color bleaching, mutate their DNA, and even cause the prevention of new coral buds forming (sunscreen chemical, 2014). And without coral reefs, scientists are worried about what could occur to the oceanic ecosystem. Beyond the loss of its natural beauty, coral reefs are an important “mini-ecosystem.” Reefs provide shelter for some fish, rooms for algae to grow, and are a buzz of activity for hungry creatures. Without the reefs, scientists fear it could lead to species being wiped out. Second, there is the humanitarian aspect of oxybenzone. This is a known endocrine disruptor. Government tests have shown it to cause reduced…
Oxycodone has various side effects including euphoria, dysphoria, lightheadedness, dizziness, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, jaundice, shortness of breath, pruitius, skin rash, bradycardia, unusual bleeding or bruising, dysuria, frequency of urination, and urinary retention (Wilson, Shannon, Shields 2016). The most common side effects are sedation and constipation (Wilson, Shannon, Shields 2016). Oxycodone can have life-threatening side effects such as respiratory depression and hepatoxicity, which is seen if oxycodone is combined with acetaminophen (Wilson, Shannon, Shields 2016). Oxycodone can interact with alcohol and St. John’s wort to increase sedation (Wilson, Shannon, Shields 2016) and “use of enzyme inducers such as rifampicin, St John’s wort and carbamazepine should be avoided because of the risk of subtherapeutic concentrations of oxycodone” (Söderberg Löfdal, Andersson, Gustafsson 2013).…
I’m sure everyone here knows or has heard of someone that is dealing with an opioid problem. The misuse and abuse of opioids in this country has become rampant. Oxy, Vicodin, codeine, heroin – every time I read the news or listen to a news report there is always some mention of opioids. And while Dallas County does not see this problem as much as other parts of Texas and the rest of the States do, it is still a problem. We need to make sure that when those struggling with opioid abuse problems come through our courts that they are led to the best resources and treatments programs available. We can’t just continue to punish those facing a crisis with fines and jail time and expect their problems to go away. On the other hand, we need to be harsher with those responsible for selling and dealing. As a public defender I have represented both users and dealers and I can say from experience that the largest issue at hand is the inconsistency with which cases are treated. I will strive…