Opiate addiction and Return of Heroin

Savannah, Ga. is no exception to the rise in opiate addiction. All across the US a large number of people are addicted to pain-killing medicine, such as:

• Demerol
• Fentanyl
• Dilaudid
• Norco
• Lortab
• Atarax

Read here to better understand how opiates come in different forms — natural, synthesized and semi-synthesized. Opiates are certainly not a new problem — here is an excerpt from an article from Michael’s House in reference to the history of opium:

The first opiates are believed to have been cultivated during the Neolithic period in what is now known as Switzerland. The settlements in this area cultivated Papaver -which was a source of poppy seeds. Many historians agree that these early individuals discovered the narcotic effect of the poppy plant -and therefore were the first users of opiates.

The first written mention of opiates is believed to have come from third-century B.C. Greek culture and the writings of philosopher Theopphrastus. By this time, people had discovered that drying the poppy plant’s extracted fluid created a highly powerful drug -which would become known as opium.

As you can see, opiates have been around a long time, and have been used for different purposes. Our laws attempt to limit opiate use to medicinal purposes, but, when someone starts using opiates, it doesn’t matter if the opiate came from a doctor or a dealer, the risk is just as real for dependence and addiction. To make a distinction, opiates act in such a way that anyone who uses the drug long enough, even used as prescribed, can become physically dependence — addiction is the irrational chasing of euphoria, craving more and more, even in the face of negative consequences. When the addict can no longer access prescription medicine, they’ll turn to heroin — thus, as laws deal with pain-killer abuse, the addict searches outside the doctor’s office to the street.

Someone physically dependent from using pain-killers for a long period of time can be detoxed and should be okay afterwards. The person who’s addicted needs treatment. The addict’s problem becomes physical and psychological. The insane mental obsession and physical craving to use more of the substance that’s killing the addict and ruining her life is not resolved by detoxing the body. It takes long term recovery management over the course of years to deal with severe opiate addiction. When the treatment is long term, and the recovering person utilizes community support groups, and family and friends who are supportive, the chances for recovery are good.

Opiate addiction is no small problem. Here is Nora Volkow, MD speaking before the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control:

The abuse of and addiction to opioids such as heroin, morphine, and prescription pain relievers is a serious global problem that affects the health, social, and economic welfare of all societies.  It is estimated that between 26.4 million and 36 million people abuse opioids worldwide,^[1] with an estimated 2.1 million people in the United States suffering from substance use disorders related to prescription opioid pain relievers in 2012 and an estimated 467,000 addicted to heroin.^[2]   The consequences of this abuse have been devastating and are on the rise.  For example, the number of unintentional overdose deaths from prescription pain relievers has soared in the United States, more than quadrupling since 1999.  There is also growing evidence to suggest a relationship between increased non-medical use of opioid analgesics and heroin abuse in the United States.^[

We can only do so much about the problem by dealing with the symptoms — unless the underlying demand for opiates is dealt with comprehensively, including long-term treatment/education strategies, the problem will likely get worse. Unfortunately, long-term treatment/education strategies are not prevalent. Hopefully, we’ll change all that as recovery movements begin developing in communities across the country,