In all corners of the United States, from quaint New Hampshire towns to busy Los Angeles streets, we see living proof that addiction does not discriminate. Alcohol and drug dependency does not care what state you live in or what kind of family you grew up in, it can and does affect us all. And with prescription painkillers emerging as a leading threat among drugs, we are undoubtedly in for many more years of fighting the uphill battle of the prescription drug epidemic.
Prescription Drugs Have Gained In Popularity
In Nashua, New Hampshire, a recent story hit the media of Lieutenant David Bailey, an undercover cop who spent years working in the narcotics division of the New Hampshire Police Department—setting up drug buys, meeting with dealers, buying drugs and making arrests. He reported that from the early 2000s until 2007, his primary focus was cocaine and heroin with the occasional ecstasy find. Nowadays, the game has changed.
Bailey says he noticed in 2011 that nearly every single case he was supervising was pills—especially pain medications like hydrocodone and OxyContin. This small-town New Hampshire trend illustrates what is occurring on a national scale—prescription drugs are now our nation’s greatest drug threat.
According to a survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration in 2009, 16 million Americans over the age of 12 have abused prescription drugs, a vast majority of which are pain pill cases.
Just last year alone, a shocking 210 million prescriptions were handed out to Americans for pain medications. This should resolve any question you may have had as to where teens and adults are obtaining these medications for abuse.
Painkillers Are Highly Addictive And Rough To Withdrawal From
Experts agree that painkillers, which are synthetic opioid substances, are essentially legal heroin. They provide powerful numbing of physical and mental pain, along with an intense euphoric high, very similar to heroin.
The science behind the interaction of these pills with the body produces rapid physical dependency. The brain has “opioid receptors,” which take in pain relieving signals from drugs like Vicoden or Oxycontin when it is ingested into the body. After receiving these signals, the brain shuts down the production of natural pain relievers called endorphins; the dependency that forms is rapid. Soon, more and more pills are required in order to feel physically normal, because without the numbness there is extreme discomfort due to a lack of endorphins in the body. This is why heroin and pain pill withdrawals are described as some of the roughest in the field of substance abuse.
Prescription Opioids As Gateway Drugs
This cycle of addiction is all too common in today’s drug game according to Narconon Hawaii. A common situation is as follows:
An individual is prescribed a powerful pain reliever, and, becoming hooked, requires more and more pills. Doctors are finally wising up to this growing issue, however, and opioids are increasingly harder to obtain. The alternative is to turn to heroin—a drug for which you need no prescription, you can get for cheaper and yet produces the same high. Prescription pain pills are factually performing “gateway drug” functions and worsening our drug problem on more levels than just one.
Understanding this vicious cycle, it’s clear to see why prescription painkillers emerging as a leading threat among drugs means a long road ahead of us for substance abuse treatment and reform.
Narconon centers have seen and handled many cases of prescription painkiller abuse. As threatening as the problem is, there is hope for recovery through long term treatment.
For more information on Narconon Arrowhead contact us today.