The symptoms of narcotic withdrawal are legendary since they can be the most dramatic of any and include vomiting, uncontrollable shaking, hot and cold flashes and diarrhea. When taken in large doses, like those contained in OxyContin, opiates can cause severe respiratory depression that can lead to death. The latest report from, the Drug Enforcement Agency states that OxyContin tablets "have played a role in over 282 deaths since the beginning of 2002". OxyContin is at the forefront of America's addiction problem and cases like radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh's addiction has forced Perdue Pharma into the limelight. Purdue Pharma funded a recent study in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology that examined 1,243 deaths from Aug. 27, 1999, through Jan. 17, 2002, in which medical examiners determined oxycodone, the narcotic in OxyContin, was involved.
This happens every day to people all over the world, even me, and is a topic that people need to hear and understand. When my older brother Bobby was 12 years old he was diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed heavy doses of Ritalin year round. I personally feel this was the start of his relationship with addiction. Throughout the next 25 years his addiction to drugs got worse with heavier drugs. When he was 32 he tried heroin for the first time and this was the demon that finally took his life at the age of 40.
He uses statistics showing, there are billions of dollars put aside for those who get affected by the side effects of the drugs. Elliott shows how Americans are jealous of athletes and they “secretly want to see stars fail”(para 3). Based on these arguments presented, Elliott does a fabulous job convincing the audience that there are problems with drug usage and how easily they are accessible. The author grabs the audience’s attention by claiming how easily drugs are prescribed by doctors or attained via the black market. Elliott uses ample amounts of examples that shows how America is slowly turning to drugs for every short-come presented.
According to Abby Goodnough, author of NY Times article “Alarming New Stimulant, Legal in Many States.” The use of this synthetic drug is on the rise, throughout the entire year of 2010 only 303 cases of bath salt abuse were reported to the poison control centers around the United States. Now, the poison control centers around America have received a whopping 3,470 reports on bath salt abuse between the months of January through June. III. Because of this rapid increase, the abuse of bath salts has the ability to affects all of us weather it be through our friends, family, or ourselves in the very near future. We must take action as the University of South Carolina, as a State, and as a country to support the law against the legal sell of bath salts.
Methamphetamine is one of Americas biggest enemy, it causes millions of tax payers money. B. Thesis: Methamphetamine the that drug kills many, saves none. Yet no one is doing nothing to stop it. Main Point#1: Methamphetamine is brought from Mexico, or made here in the United States. A.
OxyContin: Experience the Euphoria and the Fatality Judy F. Tisdale Texas A&M University-San Antonio The researcher began this paper with a nagging question in her heart, “What is so alluring about this drug, OxyContin”? There are many tragic, senseless deaths throughout the United States and parts of the World due to abuse or addiction to a variety of drugs; however it appears that OxyContin is getting the majority of the attention at this particular time in History. OxyContin was created by Purdue Pharma in Stamford, Connecticut and was introduced in 1995. It is mostly prescribed for Cancer patients and for post operative patients to help ease the severity of their pain. It is a narcotic made from opium and is a time released
The heroin market in the United States is dominated by high purity heroin from Southeast Asia. In addition, virtually all the heroin produced in Mexico is destined exclusively for distribution in the United States. South American heroin produced in Colombia is readily available in the Northeast and along the East Coast and is trafficked primarily by independent Colombian traffickers. During the first 6 months of 1995, heroin prices ranged from $100,000 to $260,000 per kilogram. Other dangerous drugs include methamphetamines, produced predominantly in the Western and Southwestern United States; LSD, with most laboratories located on the West Coast; PCP, with production centered in the Los Angeles area; and marijuana, the most readily available and widely abused drug in the United States.
“It’s an industry that runs to nearly $3 billion a year in the U.S. alone ... It’s a real growth industry, expanding in the US at 10% or more yearly.” (3) With profits like these, no wonder the drug companies want a cut. Last year the United States paid Turkey $35,000,000 to suppress its opium crop. In effect, our government was erecting a protective tariff against foreign heroin, thereby subsidizing the domestic methadone market, dominated by such corporate giants as Eli Lilly and Malinckrodt Chemical. Methadone is a synthetic addictive narcotic, three to four times stronger then heroin. Every day 10.9 people die from Methadone (according to 2004 stats, not including car accident deaths caused by drivers under the influence
The Negative Ramifications of Antidepressant Medications I am very concerned about the increase in the use of antidepressant medications, which have been on the incline for the past 20 years. I believe that most of these drugs are being unnecessarily prescribed to millions of men, women and children every day across America. I notice that every time someone feels a little down or the least bit depressed they run to their physician and receive a prescription for some form of antidepressant which they believe will take care of all of their problems and unhappiness. I think some of the problem lies in the television commercials regarding these medications. When the public sees an advertisement stating that a pill will take away all of their bad feelings, they want to believe it and this is how the doctors and drug manufacturers convince the public that they need these medications.
Over the last decade our Countries gun violence has increased dramatically. Each year the percentages keep rising. The Gun Violence Archive numbers say that in 2017, gun homicides are rising faster in some cities than they are falling in others. Something needs to happen with gun control. In author Paul Waldman article it stated that “Over 30,000 Americans dead every year, and tens of thousands more maimed and paralyzed.” Our country has a very bad reputation on how dangerous and violent we are.