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The British Journal of Psychiatry printed a letter in January 1889, that was written by a “young lady laudanum-drinker” to her physician. The writer talks of taking laudanum, a tincture of opium, to manage her insomnia, then of her resulting torpor, desperate need for more doses, and (horrifying, by Victorian standards) disregard for housework.
Finally, she describes quitting using (“I don’t like owning to bodily suffering, but will not deny that I suffered”) before scolding the doctor and his colleagues for allowing all that to happen.
She reprimanded the doctors saying that they were aware of the harm the drugs do, as well as the victims, and yet they did so little to prevent it.
This letter could have as well been written about the current opioid epidemic. Fired on by a massive over-prescription of opioid painkillers that are only now being addressed, the opioid epidemic claims the lives of 91 Americans each day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
It’s the most destructive drug epidemic in history, thanks to the potency and the nature of drugs involved. But the epidemic today parallels the morphine and laudanum overuse outbreak of the late 1800s in many essential ways, even sharing some of the same causes and racial disparities — and perhaps offering lessons on how to rein in addiction.
Opioids Abuse Within Our Current Age
An opioid is any drug that acts on the opioid receptors in the brain, spinal cord, and digestive tract. While natural opioids, like morphine or heroin, come from the gum of the poppy (Papaver somniferum), synthetic opioids are molecules assembled in laboratories: like the powerful drug fentanyl.
Opioids manage pain and create a pleasant sense of euphoria. Sadly, they also bind to opioid receptors in the brain stem that help control breathing.
Jonathan Caulkins, a drug policy researcher at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College in Pittsburgh, said that the drugs are so lethal since they act on the part of the brain that commands you to breathe. He adds that if they tell someone to turn off that part of their brain, they die.
The only remedy for an opioid overdose is a medication called naloxone, which goes by the brand name Narcan, which blocks the binding of opioid drugs to opioid receptors in the brain stem, effectively reversing respiratory depression.
The lethal action and ubiquity of these drugs have created a wave of opioid deaths. According to the CDC, 64,070 Americans succumbed to drug overdose in 2016. Heroin was liable for 15,446 of those deaths, while synthetic opioids like fentanyl were responsible for 20,145 lives. Other natural and semisynthetic opioids took 14,427.
Substance Abuse Administration Towards The Opioid Epidemic
A recent report issued by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) asserted that 11.8 million Americans misused opioids in 2016, including both street drugs like heroin and prescription drugs, such as hydromorphone (Dilaudid), oxycodone (OxyContin, Percocet, and Percodan), as well as morphine.
The root of this epidemic is the overprescription of opioid pain medications.
According to the CDC, between 1999 and 2014, prescriptions for opioid painkillers quadrupled in the United States between 1999 and 2014, despite no increase in reported prevalence of pain.
Between 2010 and 2012, up to 81.2 opioid prescriptions were issued per 100 people in the United States. This is according to a July 2017 report in the CDC publication Mortality and Morbidity Weekly.
The problem was more severe in some states than in others. In 2012, Californians had an opioid prescription rate of fewer than 64 prescriptions per 100 people. That same year, Tennessee’s rate was a whopping 136.1 for every 100 people with Alabama “winning” with 143.8 prescriptions per 100 people in the population.
By 2016, the rate of new prescriptions has declined from its peak to an average of 66.5 per 100 nationally. The tightening of the prescription pill supply has sent some addicts into the nets of street dealers selling heroin, according to Caulkins.
Prescription pills offered an on-ramp to heroin addiction for many individuals who would never have imagined they’d end up sticking needles in their veins, Caulkins told Live Science.
“Once you become dependent on pills, then you might do something you wouldn’t do otherwise,” he said.
The Main Intention For Opioid Prescriptions
Most opioid prescriptions were for chronic pain, even though, according to research, opioids aren’t a very effective treatment for long-term pain. Some studies also suggest that using opioids for long periods can increase pain by altering the activity of glial cells in the nervous system.
The silver lining of opioids is that, unlike cocaine or methamphetamines, there is a medical treatment for opioid addiction. Drugs like methadone and buprenorphine can dampen cravings for opioids without causing a high so that addicts can function daily, as Caulkins said.
These treatments have been shown to extend the life span of addicts and to help them hold down jobs, he said. That’s “a potent tool” that hasn’t been available for other epidemics, like the cocaine epidemic of the 1980s.
United Recovery Projects Services and Programs
To learn about your opioid addiction and its withdrawal symptoms, as well as what happens after a successful detox, consult with United Recovery project experts today. We offer a wide range of drug rehab programs including medical detox, inpatients, outpatient, intensive outpatient, and partial hospitalization programs.
URP Partial Hospitalization Program
United Recovery Projects Partial Hospitalization Program allows clients to take advantage of the many services offered by the United Recovery Project while continuing to live at home, unlike traditional programs. The patients who enroll in this program grappling with opioid addiction are ensured to have the structure essential within the beginning of their recovery process and are not required to leave their cherished ones or even the comfort of their homes.
URP Intensive Outpatient Program
Our intensive outpatient program is tailored towards a flexible plan, ensuring that you are unrestricted towards remaining for the duration of your specific plan or perhaps reside for a longer period of time if you feel the need.
URP Alumni Program
We understand that the road towards recovery is not an easy one as you go through this newfound path towards long-term sobriety; therefore, we present you with our Alumni program tailored towards ensuring that you can ask questions and speak freely to people who have been in your shoes. This program will better assure that a burden is lifted off your shoulders as you break away from your opioid addiction.
United Recovery Project is Here For Your Good!
Please contact us today if you or someone you love is struggling with an opioid drug addiction. We want to provide you with the best resources to have the best life possible for you and your loved ones. For more information on addiction, rehabilitation, and other helpful resources, please read our other blog posts or Contact our United Recovery Project center at 888-960-5121 today.
