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Treatment-Hotline2 :: Drug Addiction :: Drugs of Abuse
The Straight Facts on Pain Killers
addiction and alcoholism are believed to be a learned behavior that is masking a person's emotional or physical pain. There are almost as many treatments as there are addicts and alcoholics.
Educate yourself before making any type of life-changing decison regarding alcoholism, addiction and substance abuse treatment.
The Straight Facts on Pain Killers
Painkillers or opioids are one of the most commonly used illicit drugs and the most widely abused prescription drug in the U.S. Users account for 4.4 million Americans per year (2.5%) and 3.6% of teens become users of opioids. More than 12% of users are considered addicted.
There are many different opioids that can be abused. Some of these include codeine ("school boy"), Demerol, methadone ("dolly"), morphine, oxycodone and hydrocodone. Users seek a sense of euphoria and relaxation. Opioids are sometimes mixed with other illicit drugs. They are taken orally or, in some cases, injected.
Common Names for Morphine
White stuff
M
Morph
The largest source of street opioids is prescription drugs given to those who go from doctors to emergency rooms with elaborate stories of intense pain so as to procure a prescription for an opioid pain reliever. Doctors call these people "seekers" and struggle to cope with their daily presence in their medical practice. The other source of opioids involves stealing the drugs from pharmacies and factories that produce them.
One particular opioid has become increasingly abused over the last 10 years, making its prescribed use by those who really need them more difficult. That drug is Oxycontin, a long-acting opioid containing oxycodone. One study showed that the percent of new users increased from 21,000 in 1995 to 721,000 users in 2003. The risk of respiratory failure and cardiovascular collapse is high with misuse of this drug and of the other opioids.
Illegal laboratories are developing synthetic narcotic-like drugs that also create opioid properties. These newer drugs can be injected or snorted; they go by the street names china white, synthetic heroin, MPTP, MPPP and PEPAP. Their effects and risks are similar to natural or semi-synthetic opioids.
Opioids present a problem in that many people innocently begin using them because of a "real" painful medical problem but, through hereditary or emotional factors, getting off the drug once the medical crisis is passed becomes practically impossible.
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