What are opioids? They are a range of drugs that include heroin and synthetic versions like fentanyl. They're similar to opium and bind to the opioid receptors in your body. Some are made from poium, and some are derived from opium. Like all illicit drugs, they create euphoria and pleasant feelings that draw you to it. Drugs like OxyContin, Morphine, are all the same generic drugs.
So how did this start? Well. In the 90's about 79 people were prescribed opioids for treatment. That number has jumped to over 217 million now. The problem is that because they are simple to obtain as over-the-counter drugs, people are more prone to misusing them. Sure, people need them for real reasons, but there are thousands of people who die from these overdoses yearly. That number is growing. It seems that on one is safe from them. Heck, even a puppy from Andover, Massachusetts overdosed when she started eating an old cigarette box that probably had opioids in it.
In fact, over half of the people who overdosed from the opioids had a prescription. 4 percent were diagnosed with an abuse problem. Imagine how many there are today.
There are treatments available, like Buprenorphine and methadone maintenance, but not everyone has access to these treatments.
https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/opioids
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-28/how-opioids-started-killing-americans
https://qz.com/1112727/the-magnitude-of-americas-opioid-epidemic-in-six-charts/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2017/10/28/even-this-puppy-wasnt-safe-from-americas-opioid-crisis/?utm_term=.70f971eb7463
what about marijuana tho
ReplyDelete