10 Things You Need to Know About Opiate Addiction
Opiates refer to drugs that derive from the opium poppy. Opiate use around the world is highly prevalent, but currently the most common forms of drug abuse center around Heroin, Morphine, Oxycodone, Hydrocodone and Methadone.
The following are some important facts about opiates and opiate addiction. If you, or someone you know, is using opiate-based drugs, this is essential reading that could save your life, or the life of another person close to you.
10 things to know about opiates and opiate addiction
- Opiates are used in the medical community as a means of relieving pain. With the exception of heroin, all the opiates listed above are legal when prescribed by a doctor. A percentage of individuals use these medications, not for pain relief, but as a means for getting high.
- Heroin is illegal in the United States and remains one of the most addictive drugs in the world.
- Heroin can be injected via needles, smoked or snorted as a means of delivery into the bloodstream.
- OxyContin was developed to provide time-released relief for those suffering from severe pain. Drug users however, began to snort the drug (or crush and swallow it) in order to receive all the opiate effects at one time. This led to a large numbers of overdoses from the drug.
- Methadone is an opiate used to treat heroin addiction. The drug does not provide a euphoric high, but does help substitute for the cravings associated with heroin.
- Many people begin taking opiates orally, but then move on to intravenous use because of the faster, stronger high it provides. IV use of the drugs is very dangerous and can lead to overdose, or the contraction of diseases such as HIV or Hepatitis if needles are shared among users.
- When an opiate addiction occurs, the user will do almost anything to find their next high. This matter is complicated further because of the tolerance that an addict builds up against the drug. That means it will also take more and more of the drug over time to achieve the desired euphoric effect.
- When an individual stops taking opiates, they are likely to experience withdrawal symptoms. While these symptoms are rarely life-threatening, they are uncomfortable and lead many individuals to relapse back into the drug. Common withdrawal symptoms to opiates include: nausea, sweating, irritability, sleeplessness, anxiety and chills.
- Overdoses to opiates occur when the individual has taken more of the drug than his or her body can handle. In the case of heroin, overdoses may occur when the individual is sold a bad dose of heroin that is either too strong or contains toxic substances.
- If you or someone you know is addicted to opiates, it is important that you seek help immediately. In the case of a loved one who is addicted, you may need to intervene in the situation, as very few drug users admit readily that they have a problem. Drug rehab will be required to help them break the cycle of addiction.
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