Opiates have been recognized for their ability to relive pain & as a medicine for many ailments throughout recorded history. They produce an increased sense of well-being & decreased perception of pain. There are many different forms of opioids including heroin & many pharmaceuticals....
They also produce drowsiness and reduced respiratory function... which can lead to overdose death :( Withdrawal symptoms such as pain, nausea, sweating and hallucinations take place when a person who is physically dependent stops using... This is because the body’s chemistry has to readjust.
Morphine was the first drug to be isolated from the opium poppy in 1806 as well as among the first to be administered by syringe in the 1840's. During the American Civil War, soldiers were given syringes and morphine so they could self-treat the pain from their injuries. Some soldiers remained addicted after the war. Opiate became a popular ingredient in many medicinal products. The US began regulations on opium in the 1850s as Chinese laborers brought with them the tradition of smoking opium as a form of relaxation.
The company Bayer originally trademarked and began marketing Heroin as a treatment for Morphine addiction in 1898. The addictive properties were recognized within a few years and doctors stopped prescribing it, but still prescribed other opioids.
Methadone is an opioid that is prescribed by doctors to treat severe pain, especially in cancer patients. Methadone is also used as a treatment for opioid addiction. Through President Nixon, methadone maintenance was made an accepted element in the treatment of opioid addiction. It was perceived by him as a way to reduce the crimes committed by addicts. Methadone is still used today as an addiction maintenance method. Methadone is usually administered at a clinic, in increasing doses. The doses start at 10 mg and are gradually increased to in doses up to 180 mg.
According to a Congressional statement by Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “In the 1960's, more than 80 percent of people who began using opioids initiated with heroin; today, nearly 80 percent of opioid users reported that their first regular opioid was a prescription pain reliever (2016)”.
~~~Thoughts~~~
The maintenance treatment method methadone has some ethical challenges to it. The initial reasoning behind using this method was to reduce the societal harm caused by addicts committing crimes. The crimes associated with addiction are usually money driven, so that they can maintain constant access to their drug and avoid going into painful withdrawal symptoms. Transitioning the addict to Methadone does limit or eliminate withdrawal symptoms, only because it’s an opioid and also addictive.
The increase in dosages of Methadone at these clinics is owed to individuals developing a tolerance. Somebody pays for the drug... either out-of-pocket, through insurance, or a government program. The addict maintains constant access to the drug (*if it is being paid for), but is controlled by laws and regulations as to when and how much they will use. Many times the Methadone clinics are crowded and requires everyone to arrive at early in the morning to receive their daily dose. This is meant so that the addicts can be productive members society....by keeping them drugged all of the time ... If a person decides to stop the “treatment”, they will experience extreme withdrawal symptoms, especially if they have been on a regimen of high doses.
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An individual suffering through physical dependence should instead be cured by gradually decreasing doses, detoxifying the body naturally, addressing underlying issues, and creating a plan to stay healthy and free of dependency.
