How and why so many believed the biggest lie ever pushed by big pharma.

All men are created equal, having been endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. But what about the right to not feel pain? In a society built on the promise of freedom and dignity, how did the relentless pursuit of pain relief spiral into an opioid crisis that now claims countless lives? As Utah grapples with addiction, suffering, and survival, we must confront a difficult question: How did the quest to eliminate pain become one of our most profound public health tragedies?

Utah faces a significant substance abuse problem. According to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, in 2023, 606 Utahans died from a drug overdose. Of those, 48% were due to fentanyl. 

Doctors routinely prescribe opioids to treat acute and chronic pain, including synthetic and semi-synthetic versions. Unfortunately, drug dealers sell the same opioids on the streets to those who are opioid-dependent or want to try them for recreational purposes. It is this use of the drug that has caused the alarming opioid epidemic, resulting in overdose deaths that plague Utah and the nation. 

Morphine and codeine are natural drugs derived from the opium poppy, and the source of cocaine is the coca plant. For its part, heroin, oxycodone, hydrocodone, and oxymorphone are semi-synthetic opioids produced in a laboratory from natural opioids. Among the synthetic opioids are fentanyl, methadone, pethidine, tramadol, and carfentanil. These drugs create different sensations in the brain, such as euphoria, happiness, and relaxation, among others, while relieving pain.

 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provided recommendations for opioid prescriptions. The discussion over painkillers gets heated, with those who need opioids to manage their pain complaining about doctors refusing to prescribe them. In recent years, more doctors have been prescribing fewer painkillers due to the risks associated with them and the guidelines imposed by the CDC. 

Sasha Pino from Davis County shares her sorrowful experience. At the young age of 35, her mom suffered a car accident, injuring her back. She used opioids to treat her chronic pain, not realizing she was becoming addicted. Pinto says addiction is a slow process, making it difficult to pinpoint when her mom became addicted. Ten years later, her mom was found dead on the couch at her home in Ogden from an opioid overdose. She had been dead for three days. Sasha, her only child, placed every drug her mom had in a police box. “There were at least 15 bottles, including oxycodone, oxycontin, Vicodin, morphine, valium, and other antidepressants. each of them prescribed,” she said. 

More awareness is being spread about the harmful effects of using opioids for treating pain, like addiction, overdose, and tolerance. Still, Sasha says, “There needs to be a balance because some people are deprived when they need them.” 

Pain-relief management with opioids brings risks like opioid use disorder and dying from an accidental overdose. Those with chronic pain need hard drugs like oxycodone. Oxycodone is an opioid analgesic and a narcotic, which means it works in the brain to relieve pain. As a controlled substance, it is highly addictive. It is the most common narcotic prescribed to treat pain.

Matthew Williams’ addiction journey started at 17 after a car accident. He explained that a truck ran over him and dragged him down the street under it. His doctor prescribed hydrocodone, followed by oxycodone, and, lastly, roxicodone. William commented that his doctors prescribed him more pills than he needed. Once hooked, he went to the streets to find different drugs, such as Dilaudid. His addiction to those drugs made him look for something more potent, so he turned to heroin and fentanyl.

Williams was fortunate not to die from fentanyl, but many others were not. The Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) shows that in 2023, 290 people lost their lives to fentanyl use, with death rates increasing twice from 2019 to 2020. Williams commented that it is extremely easy to get heroin and fentanyl. “I could go to Salt Lake and get fentanyl in 10 minutes,” he claims.

Society’s judgment of people with chronic pain and those who take opioids to have a functional life must be eradicated. Chronic pain prevents people from having a life where they can be themselves and perform daily routines. Many can’t hold a job, and their sense of worth is questioned by themselves and others. Society’s role should be to advocate and demand government funded research to find ways to manage chronic pain in a potentially non-lethal way. 

At this time, people, especially youth, can obtain narcotics from the streets, and the vast majority don’t even have pain issues. Charol Simpson, a nurse who has worked in hospital addiction counseling as well as in the emergency room, said that people with chronic pain who cannot obtain the medication they need due to doctors’ refusal to prescribe or not prescribe enough, “Go out and get strange drugs because they’re in pain. It happens a lot.” 

After vocal cord surgery,  Simpson’s doctor only prescribed three days worth of painkillers. She called him to request more and he told her “to meditate or watch a movie.” 

Finding an easy solution to avoid more deaths from drug overuse and overdose without harming people with chronic pain is challenging. Functional or alternative medicine is slowly finding ways to treat pain more holistically, addressing the underlying causes of pain and not just the symptoms. Treatments are personalized based on the findings in the patient’s lab results.

Schools, universities, parents, and anyone who becomes a patient as the result of a medical procedure must increase their awareness of the dangers of any drug. Anyone can become addicted in a short time. The addiction and resulting damage to their bodies and brains is harrowing and often permanent. Drugs may create good sensations in the brain, such as euphoria and happiness, but they fade quickly, and the brain keeps begging for more.

It is imperative that people of all ages learn that opioids, when used properly,  serve a vital purpose, but they should never be the drugs of choice for recreational use.

Feature Image created using AI.