According to Center for Disease Prevention and Control, more than 115 Americans die every day from opioid overdose. Veterinarians would also play an important role in this opioid crisis, which has affected the United States for several years. Indeed, according to a study conducted by the University of Colorado, addicted people would injure their own pets, or even dogs that do not belong to them, to get a prescription.
The survey was conducted among 189 veterinarians:
- 13% said they saw a client they believed had intentionally injured or made a pet sick to get drugs.
- almost 45% of participating vets knew of an owner or member of their team who used opioids
- 12% said they knew a staff member was distributing opioids for illicit purposes
In most cases, the opioid involved was tramadol. It is most common among veterinarians and is also used on humans. Prolonged use can lead to heavy dependence.
Train veterinarians in this type of case
“If it’s happening in Colorado, it’s happening nationwide,” said Newsweek Lee Newman, principal author an editorial on the results of the investigation. “We now know there is a problem, but we don’t know the extent of it. We can only assume, based on this study, that veterinary opioid prescribing is contributing to the epidemic that is killing people. people in this country “. In response to this study, the University of Colorado developed an online course for veterinarians to train them to detect such cases.
Read also :
Smartphone addiction similar to opioid addiction
Which drug to choose for which pain?
An implant to treat opioid addiction
