Oxycodone should Remain

Outline

Oxycodone supports the everyday life of many patients. The discussion on its ban will not end anytime soon since the patients whose life is supported by the medication is increasing every day. It is this situation that makes one wonder whether the Food and Drug Administration agency should ban the medication. The question of how the medication became so popular and why the FDA had to wait that long only to ban the medication when people are so much dependent on it still goes unanswered. But one fact that cannot go away is that the agency was still in existence when the medication was being developed and as it was introduced in the market. They have seen the changes the medication has brought into the lives of people who suffer from diseases that cause the severe pain such as arthritis. The benefits of the medication are enormous compared to disadvantages (Cicero, & Ellis, 2015). And the government should care about its citizens who need this medication and lift the ban. Some of the users of this medication have designed new ways of using the medication. They dilute it with water and inject, crush or snort. The uses claim that by doing this, the medication works faster. This challenge does not warrant the banning of oxycodone. The regulations on the use of drugs are the ones that the government agency should tighten. Those who use the drugs are many, and it is only a few of them who misuse the drug (Harris, et al, 2014). Snorting or injecting the medication is a personal choice the patients make. The suffering that patients who use the medicine correctly and those who are in a severe need for strong pain-relieving medication are going through cannot be overlooked because of a small population who misuse the medication. The federal government agency can consider doing away with the "pain mills" that prescribe the medication even for minor pains and start set few authorized hospitals, which will serve those patients who are in a real need of oxycodone (Dowell,et al, 2016). It can be an easy way of managing how the medication is administered instead of doing away with it completely. FDA will be in a position to follow the prescriptions given and make physicians accountable. The current system does not hold physicians accountable hence; they prescribe oxycodone to anybody who has money while disregarding other medicines which can be used to treat minor pains. Banning oxycodone makes some patients suffer for mistakes they never committed. The alternatives the government is introducing can also be addictive. It only requires a person to taking them for a considerably long period, and it will reach a point where they will become addicted, especially medications made with drugs such as heroin. Banning a medication every time the government notices that it is addictive or it is overprescribed is only a short-term solution which leads to long-term problems for the patients (Chang, & Ibrahim, 2017). It is better to develop proper controls that will safeguard patients and ensure physicians are offering the right prescriptions, putting patient's life first as opposed to providing medicine to make money. FDA can regulate the use of oxycodone, and therefore it should not ban the use of the medication. The FDA should act now to avoid a situation where people who ate in severe need for strong painkillers become a burden. These patients will be unable to do any work on their own, and they will depend on their families for support. If nothing is done, there will be the introduction of more other drugs which will try to fill the void, but they will also become addictive if the motivation behind the prescriptions is the profits the physicians will realize (Coplan, et al, 2013). It is advisable that the government should regulate the medicine market and make those drugs that have the high addiction and are likely to be misused hard to obtain but still accessible to those who require them for genuine reasons. If FDA does nothing, more patients who were used to relieving their pain with the medication will continue ensuring at home and may even shift to using heroin since oxycodone is a medicated form of heroin.

Annotated Bibliography

Chang, F., & Ibrahim, S. (2017). Perceptions of Community-Dwelling Patients and Their Physicians on OxyContin?® Discontinuation and the Impact on Chronic Pain Management.? Pain Research and Management,? 2017.retrieved from https://www.hindawi.com/journals/prm/2017/5402915/ The article provides details that show the perceptions of physicians and communities concerning oxycodone and its discontinuation. The research provides details of how physicians lead to abuse of the medication, hence the need to regulate how they operate instead of banning it. The physicians are also to blame because they prescribe the medication to patients who do not need it provided they have money to pay for it. The article is applicable in answering the question since it provides information that supports the decision on why oxycodone should remain but under strict regulations. Cicero, T. J., & Ellis, M. S. (2015). Abuse-deterrent formulations and the prescription opioid abuse epidemic in the United States: lessons learned from OxyContin.? JAMA psychiatry,? 72(5), 424-430.retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273468751_Abuse-Deterrent_Formulations_and_the_Prescription_Opioid_Abuse_Epidemic_in_the_United_States_Lessons_Learned_From_OxyContin The article provides details that show how some physicians overprescribe oxycodone. The information provided indicates there is reduced consumption and reduced abuse after the introduction of abuse-deterrent features. The research provides details of how physicians lead to abuse of the medication, hence the need to regulate how they operate instead of banning it. Some patients desperately need it to relieve severe pain which may make them become a burden to their families if they do not get a strong pain-relieving medication. The article is applicable in answering the question since it provides information that supports the decision on why oxycodone should remain but under tight controls. Coplan, P. M., Kale, H., Sandstrom, L., Landau, C., & Chilcoat, H. D. (2013). Changes in oxycodone and heroin exposures in the National Poison Data System after introduction of extended'?release oxycodone with abuse'?deterrent characteristics.? Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety,? 22(12), 1274-1282. Retieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pds.3522/full The article provides data that shows some comparison between the use of heroin and use of oxycodone. The data provided shows the difference in abuse after the introduction of abuse-deterrent features such as making oxycodone medications hard to crash or dissolve. The research offers some insights on why the oxycodone should not be banned. Patients still need it, and it is hard to ill he void that will be created after it is banned. The article is applicable in answering the question since it provides data that can be used to support the decision on why oxycodone should not be banned. Dowell, D., Haegerich, T. M., & Chou, R. (2016). CDC guideline for prescribing opioids for chronic pain'”United States, 2016.? Jama,? 315(15), 1624-retrieved from 1645.https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/rr/rr6501e1.htm The article provides guidelines that show how the medication ought to be prescribed. To those who are suffering from chronic pains. The research provides details of how physicians should only prescribe the oxycodone to those patients who have severe pain and as opposed to those who can pay for it. The physician should also follow up on how the patient is using the medication to help them in case they are abusing it. The article is applicable in answering the question since it provides information that supports the decision on why oxycodone should remain but under strict regulations. Harris, S. C., Perrino, P. J., Smith, I., Shram, M. J., Colucci, S. V., Bartlett, C., & Sellers, E. M. (2014). Abuse potential, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and safety of intranasally administered crushed oxycodone HCl abuse'?deterrent controlled'?release tablets in recreational opioid users.? The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology,? 54(4), 468-477. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jcph.235/full The article provides information that shows how oxycodone is abused. The information provided shows there is reduced abuse after the introduction of abuse-deterrent features such as making oxycodone medications hard to crash or dissolve. The research offers some insights on why the oxycodone should not be banned. Some patients desperately need it to relieve severe pain, and even the new alternatives can also be abused. The article is applicable in answering the question since it provides information that supports the decision on why oxycodone should be available to people who can be trusted and not everybody.

Reference

Chang, F., & Ibrahim, S. (2017). Perceptions of Community-Dwelling Patients and Their Physicians on OxyContin?® Discontinuation and the Impact on Chronic Pain Management.? Pain Research and Management,? 2017.retrieved from https://www.hindawi.com/journals/prm/2017/5402915/ Cicero, T. J., & Ellis, M. S. (2015). Abuse-deterrent formulations and the prescription opioid abuse epidemic in the United States: lessons learned from OxyContin.? JAMA psychiatry,? 72(5), 424-430.retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273468751_Abuse-Deterrent_Formulations_and_the_Prescription_Opioid_Abuse_Epidemic_in_the_United_States_Lessons_Learned_From_OxyContin Coplan, P. M., Kale, H., Sandstrom, L., Landau, C., & Chilcoat, H. D. (2013). Changes in oxycodone and heroin exposures in the National Poison Data System after introduction of extended'?release oxycodone with abuse'?deterrent characteristics.? Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety,? 22(12), 1274-1282. Retieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pds.3522/full Dowell, D., Haegerich, T. M., & Chou, R. (2016). CDC guideline for prescribing opioids for chronic pain'”United States, 2016.? Jama,? 315(15), 1624-retrieved from 1645.https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/rr/rr6501e1.htm Harris, S. C., Perrino, P. J., Smith, I., Shram, M. J., Colucci, S. V., Bartlett, C., & Sellers, E. M. (2014). Abuse potential, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and safety of intranasally administered crushed oxycodone HCl abuse'?deterrent controlled'?release tablets in recreational opioid users.? The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology,? 54(4), 468-477. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jcph.235/full

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