At addiction treatment centers across the nation, more and more individuals are being seen for opioid addiction. Opioids are pain medications including morphine, codeine, oxycodone, methadone, fentanyl or hydrocodone. These pain-killing drugs are addictive and even when prescribed correctly, can be dangerous. It is recommended that opioid therapy should be used only as part of […]
Why has heroin abuse skyrocketed, who is using it, and what can be done about the problem? Prescription opioids abuse data suggests the reason for a resurgence of heroin use in America. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA): “Today’s typical heroin addict starts using at 23, is more likely to live […]
Prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) are valuable tools in mitigating the abuse and diversion of prescription controlled substances from legitimate medical use to illicit use. Drug monitoring programs, the procedures and powers of which can vary significantly from state to state, all share a similar strategy: to require doctors, pharmacists or both to enter all […]
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on average 100 people die every day in the United States from drug overdoses. Most involve prescription drugs. This is a huge number of preventable deaths that unfortunately affects close friends and family members, including many children. Prescription drug abuse is a major growing public […]
The majority of people who use pain medication do not become addicted, indicating that the drugs themselves are not necessarily the cause of addiction. One becomes addicted to opioids not so much because the drugs are addictive, but because they “work” for the user who has other issues in addition to the physical pain […]
LSD may help those diagnosed with a life-threatening disease cope with the pain and anxiety of facing death. Further study is warranted due to the urgent need of more effective therapies for those facing painful, life-ending illnesses and the promising results of a historic new study. Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, a hallucinogenic drug commonly called LSD […]
In light of the increasing opioid epidemic, scientists are interested in why people favor one drug over the other. The results of a recent study were published in Pain and found the oxycodone and hydrocodone are the drugs of choice for 75% of opioid addicts. The study was done in cooperation with the Department of […]