Addiction does not care where you came from, where you are, what kind of job you have or the type of house you live in. It doesn’t care who you associate with, your socioeconomic status, what kind of degree you hold, or where you went to school. No; addiction is not discriminatory and as quickly as you have built your empire, it will steal it all away. Millions of Americans are struggling in silence with the disease of addiction and if we don’t establish a method to effectively treat it, the statistics will continue to rise at an alarming rate. While opiates are effective for pain management, they can be addictive and we must treat the epidemic of addiction through easier access to medication assisted detoxification and maintenance, access to longer inpatient and outpatient therapy, and stringent regulation and monitoring of opioid prescriptions and use.
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They are most commonly known as oxycodone or OxyContin, hydrocodone, and fentanyl, as well as the illegal street drug, heroin (Opioid Addiction 2016 Facts & Figures). They work by altering the release of dopamine, which is the natural hormone the brain releases as a way of rewarding itself, as well as blocking pain receptors in the brain (Kosten and George, 13-20). Opioids have been proven to be effective in treating pain, but they can lead to chemical dependency and addiction when they are used for a long period of time, or outside the realm of their
They are most commonly known as oxycodone or OxyContin, hydrocodone, and fentanyl, as well as the illegal street drug, heroin (Opioid Addiction 2016 Facts & Figures). They work by altering the release of dopamine, which is the natural hormone the brain releases as a way of rewarding itself, as well as blocking pain receptors in the brain (Kosten and George, 13-20). Opioids have been proven to be effective in treating pain, but they can lead to chemical dependency and addiction when they are used for a long period of time, or outside the realm of their