The life of a heroin drug addict is not the same as it was many years ago, and the biggest reason is because of prescription opiates. These medications are being taken like candy and easily available without the need to visit a local drug dealer. Lets take for example the actor Philip Seymour Hoffman who passed away from an apparent heroin overdose. The actor quit heroin a long time ago but struggled to break a prescription painkiller habit. He was treated for heroin withdrawal but with medications like Vicodin, OxyContin and Oxycodone which are all opiates like heroin, that desire or addiction never went away.
Illegal Drugs
The landscape of addiction and relapse has drastically changed for current and former users. In the past, heroine drug users only had heroin as a drug choice. When there was none available, they didn’t switch to other medications. They went through heroin withdrawal. Today, once the supply of heroin runs out, they switch to prescription opiates until the heroin supply comes back. Withdrawal doesn’t exist due to an abundance of supply of opiates.
Rates of prescription opiate abuse have risen steadily over the last decade. Addicts live in a world where there is far more temptation than there was a generation ago. The illegal drugs list goes from a few names on the list to pages containing the drug names of synthetic and drug derivatives. Pills are considered the perfect drug for many since there is no paraphernalia and no smell. Prescription painkillers can act as an introduction or a reintroduction to an opiate high. The pills set off heroin craving in recovering addicts and they soothe withdrawal in current users. It all starts with a legitimate prescription.
Next Generation Of Opiates
The FDA recently approved the next generation of prescription opiates that are time released and are abuse deterrent. Which basically means you can’t cut it, snort it nor inject it like a regular Oxycodone pill. These prescription pills have been formulated to limit the high unless it is ingested. If you try and destroy or grind down the tablet, the opiate will not activate without interaction with stomach fluids.
Of course the easiest way to bypass this opiate lock is the time tested method of just ingesting several prescription opiates at the same time. The abuse of prescription pills is still there as well as the chances of overdose. Although it is a nice option, abuse can never be prevented. At least there are the attempts by the government to try and slow down the abuse of prescription opiates.
Have you used opiates?
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