The Problem Of Substance Abuse - 1379 Words

Aimee Parry was a 26 year old women who was addicted to fentanyl(Nish et al., 2012). At age 14 she founder herself pregnant and got an abortion, 6 months later she got pregnant again she just wanted someone to love her(). Her life started to go downhill when her son got taken away from her and she believed that she no longer had anything to live for(Nish et al., 2012). Whelan et al., (2013) state that, addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. A person who was addicted to drugs would lie, cheat, report their friends, steal, or do anything to satisfy their personal need(Whelan et al., 2013). In this paper I will be focusing on a 26†¦show more content†¦For Aimee her drug addiction started innocently enough, with an OxyContin prescription that she received from a doctor for pain management. It s the high content of oxycodone that makes OxyContin popular on the street(Fire stone et al., 2009). People who abuse the drug crush the tablet and swallow or snort it, or dilute it in water and inject it(Firestone et al., 2009). This destroys the time-release mechanism so that the user gets the full effects of the narcotic(Firestone et al., 2009). Users compare the high to the euphoria of heroin, in the film Aimee stated that due to her talking fentanyl she experienced feelings of euphoria and she no longer cared about her problems just relaxed. Abusers of the drug, who take higher than prescribed dosage, can develop a tolerance for OxyContin which can cause them to take ever-increasing larger amounts to achieve the same effect. They can become addicted or dependent on the drug quickly. According to Aimee the Oxy stopped working, I did the Fentanyl, and the first time I was hooked. It was stronger, much cheaper and easier to find, it was a quick downward spiral(Firestone et al., 2009). Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opiate analgesic similar to but more poten t than morphine(Firestone et al., 2009). In the video Aimee stated that she has been using fentanyl for 2 years and that she has to a shot of fentanyl every 6 hours or else she panics and starts to get sick. Aimee believed that she deserves this