HJAR Jul/Aug 2022

DRUG ADDICTION 18 JUL / AUG 2022 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS   Unfortunately, isolation, depression, anx- iety, and lack of hope triggered the misuse and abuse of opioids again. On top of all that, the trending in the decline of availabil- ity of prescribed opioids due to improved vetting made patients turn toward heroin and drugs laced with fentanyl, an opioid 100 times more potent than morphine, making it a lethal drug that has claimed so many lives. 13 We have tried to understand how we are in this evil opioid epidemic. In these three pieces, we have tried to not just talk about it but to bring awareness and hope that with a very committed medical community, and with the help of the different institutions, we should be able to defeat this deadly enemy, the “Opioid Epidemic”! n REFERENCES 1. Gill, N.S.“Understanding the Significance of Pandora’s Box.” ThoughtCo, updated June 27, 2019. https://www. thoughtco.com/what-was-pandoras-box-118577. 2.Ammer, C.The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, Second Edition.HoughtonMifflin Hardcourt,2013. 3.Hesiod,“Works,and Days.”47ff. 4. Lipinski, J. “Justice for Danny: How a small town pharmacist caught his son’s killer.” Nola.com, The Times Picayune,Oct.6,2017 .https://www.nola.com/news/crime_ police/article_934b7d20-a78a-535a-8691-26cfc7f9bee7. html. 5. Raja, S.N.; Carr, D.B.; Cohen, M.; et al. “The revised International Association for the Study of Pain definition of pain: concepts, challenges, and compromises.” Pain 161, no. 9 (Sep 1, 2020): 1976-1982. DOI: 10.1097/j. pain.0000000000001939. 6. Humble, W. “The 5th ‘Vital Sign’ & the Painkiller Epidemic.” Arizona Department of Health Services, July 29, 2014. https://directorsblog.health.azdhs.gov/ the-5th-vital-sign-the-painkiller-epidemic-part-i-of-v/. 7.VanZee,A.“The Promotion andMarketing of OxyContin: Commercial Triumph, Public Health Tragedy.” American JournalofPublicHealth,99,no.2(Feb.2009).DOI:10.2105/ AJPH.2007.131714. 8.CDCdata.Dart,R.;Surrat,H.;Cicero,T.J.;etal.“Trends in OpioidAnalgesicAbuseandMortality intheUnitedStates.” NewEnglandJounalofMedicine,372,no.3(2015):241-248. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMsa1406143. Volkow, N; McClellan,A.T.“Opioid Abuse in Chronic Pain — Misconceptions and Mitigation Strategies.” New England Journal of Medicine, 374, no. 13 (2016): 1253-1263. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMra1507771. 9.CDC,National Center for Health Statistics,July 2021 10. DEA. “Sharp Increase in Fake Prescription Pills Containing Fentanyl and Meth.” Public Safety Alert, Sept. 27, 2021. https://www.dea.gov/alert/sharp-increase-fake- prescription-pills-containing-fentanyl-and-meth. 11. King, N.B.; Fraser, V.; Boikos, C.; et al. “Determinants of increased opioid-related mortality in the United States and Canada, 1990-2013: a systematic review.”American Journal of Public Health, 104, no. 8 (Aug. 2014): e32-42. DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2014.301966. Compton, W.M.; Jones, C.M.; Baldwin, G.T.“Relationship between Nonmedical Prescription-Opioid Use and Heroin Use.”NewEnglandJournalofMedicine,374(Jan.14,2016): 154-163.DOI: 10.1056/NEJMra1508490 12. Moss, T. “CDC: Overdose deaths rise in Arkansas.” Arkansas Democrat Gazette,July 18,2021. 13. Bicket, M.; White, E.; Wu, C.; et al.“(232) Prescription opioid oversupply following orthopedic surgery: A prospective cohort study.”The Journal of Paint, Abstracts Presented at the 36th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Pain Society,18,no.4 (April 2017); S34.https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2017.02.124. The Greek Myth of Pandora and Her Box Pandora was given a box or a jar, called “pithos” in Greek. The Greek gods told her the box contained special gifts, but she was not allowed to open the box – ever. Pandora could not help herself. She opened the box, and all the illnesses and hardships that the gods had hidden in the box started coming out. Pandora was scared, because she saw all the evil spirits coming out and tried to close the box as fast as possible, closing hope inside. In the next part of this series, we will try to open the box and release HOPE. COMMENTS? editor@ushealthcarejournals.com