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Kellas 1 Matt Kellas Ms.

Caruso English 1102 9 April 2013 Memo For this project I chose this article because it relates to my overall topic for this class. In this article Morgan Griffin talks about how doctors are worried about addiction when giving out narcotics for back pain, and because of this there are a lot of people that go under medicated. His argument is that there are psychological and social issues that cause someone to become addicted. My response is in the form of a letter to the author, talking about how anyone can become addicted by just the amount of time you are taking the narcotic.
Comment [J3]: Include statements regarding your research backing your response, Note: Often times psychosocial issues that an individual may be facing can cause them to become more susceptible to drug addiction. Comment [J1]: This statement is not needed Comment [J2]: Who is Morgan Griffin?

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=50318

Kellas 2 Matt Kellas Ms. Caruso English 1102 4 April 2013

Dear Mr. R. Morgan Griffin, I read your article on prescription drug addiction that was written in August 2004 that was titled Back Pain: Medication and Addiction. I agreed with you on how doctors and patients are often stuck in the middle of what is the best route for someone with chronic back pain. Whether is risk getting addicted to narcotics, getting surgery, or using alternative treatments. Im in agreement that a drug addiction caused by prescriptions could destroy lives. Drug addiction can destroy lives by ripping families apart, separating people from their friends. It can make people do things that they never thought they would do, like stealing from family and friends, lying to the people they love; and some may even go to the extreme of killing people over drugs. You seem to have knowledge of the growing problems with addiction, but you go on to say that addiction is more than taking pills; there has to be additional physiological and social factors. You state that most people who take narcotics are not at risk for addiction. I find that completely miss leading. If a person takes drugs for any length of time they become very likely to not only become addicted; they also become tolerant to the medications to where they need more. You spoke of the addict having to receive a high from drugs and that is the difference. Because most people who have side effects such as nausea or headaches will not continue to take
Comment [J6]: Research to back up this counter statement Comment [J5]: This sentence isnt really needed Comment [J4]: This would be a stronger statement if backed by research

Kellas 3 the medicine. For a person in severe pain, the relief from the pain is what he is looking for, not the high. The side effects that are associated with it are just something that you learn to deal with to have relief. Frank Vocci PHD, director of medical consequences of drug abuse at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, says in this article, Keep in mind that even if you develop no psychological reliance on a narcotic, you will probably become physically dependent. These are powerful drugs that have a very strong effect on the body, that when stopped causes severe withdrawal problems. (par. 8) Having been in this situation, my doctors have been extremely concerned for me to take narcotics because of my age and the length of time I need to take them. Theres nothing about my physiological dealings with the drugs. I have been in severe back pain for about a year now, and they have tried shots, physical therapy, and are talking about surgery before they even think about giving me narcotics. That really shocks me that surgery is an option before narcotics. I think your point is physiological addiction, while the bigger problem is being physically dependent on the drug for relief of the pain. Sincerely, Matt Kellas
Comment [J11]: I would include what back condition you suffer from, and even with that you can include research on the condition about outcomes etc. Comment [J12]: Being Physiologically addicted, and Physically addicted in a lot of ways is the same thing..physically you feel as though your body needs it, and physiologically you feel as though your body needs itthe bodies response to needing this drug is the same response for both physical and physiological. Comment [J9]: When he says physically dependent, he is speaking about the physiological aspects of this as well i.e. the symptoms associated with withdrawsee my comment below for clarity on why I am mentioning this. Comment [J10]: Consider utilizing a paraphrase for this Comment [J8]: Dr. Frank Vocci Comment [J7]: Is it safe to generalize?

I think that you are off to a good start with this, however I would like you to consider including more of a research focused argument versus an argument based on personal experience. Your personal experience, while helpful in making your argument, cant be generalized because it is just that a personal experience. Also I would try and rephrase the sentences where you start off saying you state, or you spoke, as a reader it is off putting to read that several times throughout a short letterand if this letter is addressed specifically to the author then they already know what they wrote. In your memo you state His argument is that there are psychological and social issues that cause someone to become addicted , however at the end of your paper you state I think your point is physiological addiction, while the bigger problem is

Kellas 4 being physically dependent on the drug for relief of the pain. So is the author focusing on psychological and social issues affecting drug addiction or physiological addiction?

Considering all of that I would like you to consider the linkage between biological, psychological and social factors that affect addiction, understanding that it may not necessarily be one particular area that causes the addiction yet a combined effort of one or more as to why they become addicted.there is a lot of research done in regards to thistry search biopsychosocial approaches to back pain addiction

Kellas 5 Works Cited Griffin, Morgan. "Back Pain: Medication and Addiction." MedicineNet.com. N.p., 13 Apr 2005. Web. 25 March 2013. <http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=50318>. Levy, Suzanne. "Painkiller Addiction: A Smaller Risk Than You May Think." Health. N.p., 4 May 2008. Web. 25 March 2013. <http://www.health.com/health/conditionarticle/0,,20189482_2,00.html>.

Kellas 6 Matt Kellas Ms. Caruso English 1102 4 April 2013 More Research The purpose of this piece is to give my opinion about this article. I will need the information from the article, the information that I have already have from my prezi and paper, and a little bit more about addiction. The one thing that I need to do some more research on is the facts about addiction I wouldnt say that this article came from an event; it is more of an ongoing discussion that has been going on for a few years now. I would say that I pretty much know this conversations full circle. I need to research a little more on addiction and find some facts but with my past knowledge and experience I dont need to research much. I would say the same as the proposal. Just find some facts to support my opinion. Intended I think I just need to do some research on the author to see what else he has written and more of his opinion Unintended It might be the teacher and fellow class mates as well as people that know the author. Since this is a letter to the author I dont think that they are many people that would get to read this letter.
Comment [J14]: Personal past experiences cant be generalized, I would suggest that you do not attempt to do this Comment [J13]: There is a lot of research out there on addiction, just an fyi

Kellas 7 I havent looked at any examples specifically for this assignment but all letters are basically the same

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