Drug-Free Life with Drug-Free Rehabilitation

Oxycodone
(Photo by Steve Heap/Shutterstock.com)

In America, we have a pill for just about everything. But, is our pop-a-pill hyper-culture what’s preventing many Americans from living a drug-free life?

According to drugabuse.gov, prescription drug misuse can have serious medical consequences:

Increases in prescription drug misuse over the last 15 years are reflected in increased emergency room visits, overdose deaths associated with prescription drugs and treatment admissions for prescription drug use disorders, the most severe form of which is an addiction. Among those who reported past-year non-medical use of a prescription drug, nearly 12% met the criteria for a prescription drug use disorder. Unintentional overdose deaths involving opioid pain relievers have more than quadrupled since 1999 and have outnumbered those involving heroin and cocaine since 2002.

The three classes of medication most commonly misused are:

  • Opioids—usually prescribed to treat pain
  • Central nervous system [CNS] depressants (this category includes tranquilizers, sedatives, and hypnotics)—used to treat anxiety and sleep disorders
  • Stimulants—most often prescribed to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Biggest Prescription Killer

Sadly, the biggest prescription killers are opioid painkillers. More than three million people in the United States are addicted to opioids, and over 33,000 of them die each year as a result of accidental overdoses. The opioid epidemic is a serious and growing problem, leading some to question whether there’s an end in sight.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), which is our nation’s health protection agency:

Although prescription opioids can help manage some types of pain, there is not enough evidence that opioids improve chronic pain, function, and quality of life.

You may already be thinking, “Why would we continue to prescribe drugs that we know are so addictive and get so little results?” The answer might not surprise you—sales of prescription opioids in the U.S. nearly quadrupled from 1999 to 2014 and today the US market for opioids, which accounts for 70% of the global arena, is set to grow from $11 billion in 2014 to $17.7 billion by 2021, according to GBI Research.

Prescription Opioid Use Among Subgroups

Prescription opioid use varies according to age, gender, and ethnicity:

  • Older adults (aged 40 years and older) are more likely to use prescription opioids than adults aged 20 to 39.
  • Women are more likely to use prescription opioids than men.
  • Non-Hispanic whites are more likely to use prescription opioids than Hispanics. There are no significant differences in prescription opioid use between non-Hispanic whites and non-Hispanic blacks.

Sources of Prescription Opioids

We might assume that the majority of these prescription opioid abusers are getting their drugs from the local street drug dealer, however, many people who abuse prescription opioids get them for free from a friend or relative.

According to the CDC:

However, those who are at highest risk of overdose (using prescription opioids non-medically 200 or more days a year) get them in ways that are different from those who use them less frequently. These people get opioids using their own prescriptions (27%), from friends or relatives for free (26%), buying from friends or relatives (23%), or buying from a drug dealer (15%). Those at highest risk of overdose are about four times more likely than the average user to buy the drugs from a dealer or other stranger.

Drug-Free Life with Drug-Free Rehabilitation

The solution to the drug epidemic in America isn’t really that complex. We need to stop resorting to pill-popping as our first solution to the problem of pain, anxiety, and depression. Instead, let’s work to identify the underlying cause of pain and utilize natural methods to relieve pain before we ever prescribe opioid pain therapies. 

Those who find themselves trapped in addiction should contact Narconon Arrowhead Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center and one of our intake coordinators will explain to you the benefits of achieving a drug-free life using a drug-free and highly effective rehabilitation program.


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AUTHOR

Joanne

Joanne is a veteran Narconon staff member who earlier worked at the New York Rescue Workers Detox Program.

NARCONON ARROWHEAD

DRUG EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION