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The Two Sides of Opioid Use: Unmet Needs of Opioids for Pain Management and the Role of Opioids in Substance Use Disorders

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Abstract

This chapter describes the two sides of the opioid crisis: the unmet needs of opioids for pain management and the role of prescription and nonprescription opioids (heroin, fentanyl, and new synthetic opioids) in substance use disorders. It draws attention to the unfulfilled United Nations General Assembly (UNGASS) agreements to adopt a public health approach, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to strengthen prevention and treatment, the resolution of the World Health Assembly to develop palliative care, and the recommendation by the United National Academies to balance individual and societal needs. It describes illegal and regulated markets and their role in the opioid crisis, pain management and the disparities in the availability of medication between high- and low- and middle-income countries, the world opioid problem, the role of stigma in inadequate access to care and social pain, opioid-assisted treatment, and policy recommendations.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico City, Mexico

    María Elena Medina-Mora

  2. National Institute of Psychiatry, Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz (INPRM), Mexico City, Mexico

    María Elena Medina-Mora, Raúl Martín-del-Campo, Clara Fleiz & Jorge Villatoro

  3. Opioids Working Group, Global Studies Seminar, Faculty of Medicine, UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico

    María Elena Medina-Mora, Raúl Martín-del-Campo, Nayely V. Salazar-Trujillo, Hilda Dávila, Clara Fleiz & Jorge Villatoro

  4. International Narcotics Board Control, United Nations, NewYork, NY, USA

    Raúl Martín-del-Campo

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  1. María Elena Medina-Mora
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  3. Nayely V. Salazar-Trujillo
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  4. Hilda Dávila
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  5. Clara Fleiz
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  6. Jorge Villatoro
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  1. Department of Pharmacobiology, Cinvestav, Mexico City, Mexico

    Silvia L. Cruz

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Medina-Mora, M.E., Martín-del-Campo, R., Salazar-Trujillo, N.V., Dávila, H., Fleiz, C., Villatoro, J. (2022). The Two Sides of Opioid Use: Unmet Needs of Opioids for Pain Management and the Role of Opioids in Substance Use Disorders. In: Cruz, S.L. (eds) Opioids. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-09936-6_2

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