Opiates is a term frequently used interchangeably with the word opioids. They refer to a class of drugs often prescribed for the treatment of acute and severe pain. While opiates do indeed have therapeutic benefits, prescription drug abuse is common. In fact, commonly abused opiates are the number one cause of drug overdoses in America.…
Most opioid addiction begins with prescription painkiller use that spirals out of control before a person recognizes what has happened. Many people falsely believe that painkillers are safe because a physician prescribes them, but nothing could be further from the truth. Individuals who rely on prescription painkillers for long-term pain management may develop a dependency,…
Heroin use and addiction have a long history in the United States. However, it was not until the grips of the opioid epidemic took hold of our nation that heroin use because mainstream. A significant portion of new heroin users was initially dependent upon or addicted to prescription opioids. Heroin is much cheaper and more…
Chronic relapse is a reality for many who suffer from substance use disorders (SUD). Often, even when individuals are trying to break the cycle of addiction, the intensity of withdrawal symptoms leads them back to substance use. Medical detox is the safest way to comfortably overcome withdrawals to be able to work on the underlying…
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid created to combat severe pain associated with operations, serious injuries, or cancer. For chronic pain, fentanyl can be prescribed after less potent painkillers become ineffective. While fentanyl has legitimate medical uses, its euphoric effects have led to its abuse as a recreational drug with an extremely high potential for…
Drug substitution treats addiction by replacing opiates with less of a “high”. One of the most commonly used treatments for opiate addiction in America for many years has been to …
Most people acquire prescription drugs legally from their doctor for legitimate reasons, take them as prescribed, and stop taking them when no longer needed. However, many people begin to misuse them for their psychoactive effects. The misuse of prescription drugs involves taking them other than how they were explicitly prescribed. The most commonly abused prescription…
As the opioid epidemic continues to ravage our nation, the number of overdoses and deaths related to fentanyl has reached record-breaking levels. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there were nearly 92,000 deaths from overdose in 2020, 21,000 more than ever before. By June of 2021, synthetic opioids, mainly fentanyl, were involved in…
More than ten years ago, buprenorphine hit the market with critical acclaim from government officials and treatment professionals alike. It was seen as a helpful tool to use for opiate withdrawal, but was then later pushed as a maintenance drug as well.
As the pandemic continues to make headlines, less attention is given to the rise in addiction-related deaths. The American Medical Association Advocacy Resource Center recently reported, “The AMA is greatly concerned by an increasing number of reports from national, state and local media suggesting increases in opioid- and other drug-related mortality