Opioid Use and Abuse: A Rudimentary Understanding

Opioid Use and Abuse: A Rudimentary Understanding

           It is hard to flip through a newspaper or watch the news without hearing something regarding the opioid epidemic impacting the United States today.  While there are plenty of statements and reports issued about the impact opioids are making on our communities, I can’t help but wonder how many people have an understanding of what opioids are and why this epidemic is so devastating.

            How many people know there are actually five classes or categories of controlled substances?  These classes are referred to as schedules.  Schedule five drugs have the lowest potential for abuse and can often be purchased over the counter without a prescription (American Academy of Pediatrics [AAP], 2015).  As the drug schedules lower in numbers, the potential for abuse increases.  Schedule two drugs have the highest potential for abuse but most are legal to use with prescription (AAP, 2015).  These drugs are considered the most dangerous legal drugs (AAP, 2015).  Examples of schedule two drugs include methadone, hydromorphone, oxycodone, fentanyl, and Adderall (AAP, 2015).  Examples of drugs that are considered schedule two but are illegal include cocaine and methamphetamine (AAP, 2015).  Schedule one drugs are not approved for any medical use today (with the exception of marijuana in certain states), as these have the highest potential for abuse and are very dangerous (AAP, 2015).  Schedule one drugs include heroin, ecstasy, and LSD (AAP, 2015).

            Now that the schedules of drugs are explained, it is important to know where opioids fall in these five categories.  When considering all five schedules of drugs, opioids are classified as schedule two drugs (AAP, 2015).  It is also important to understand opioids are the same thing as narcotics (American Association of Poison Control Centers [AAPCC], 2017).  So if you ever hear or read content regarding opioids or narcotics, just know they are the same.  Opioids are prescribed to treat severe pain, whether this pain be acute or chronic (AAPCC, 2017).  The more people take opioids, the greater the tolerance becomes, making the drug less effective (Volkow, 2014).  Without getting heavy into the science of how opioids work, the biggest thing to understand is while a person takes opioids, the brain stops producing endorphins (Volkow, 2014).  These endorphins that would be produced otherwise are responsible for making a person feel good (Volkow, 2014).  A deficiency in production means a greater chance at feeling depressed or sick (Volkow, 2014).  A depressed or sick person may feel a sense of relief by continued opioid use because the narcotics create a feeling of calmness (Volkow, 2014).  This should make it easier to understand the dangers of continued use, as it creates a greater potential for abuse.

            Despite numerous attempts to increase awareness about the opioid epidemic, statistics are worsening.  As the drug problem worsens, there is more evidence to indicate a strong relationship between opioid abuse and heroin use.  Prescription opioids and heroin have claimed more than 23,000 deaths a year (American Society of Addiction Medicine [ASAM], 2016).  While not everyone who uses heroin started from using opioids, about 45% of people addicted to heroin are also addicted to opioids (ASAM, 2016).  Adolescents ranging from ages 12-17 are the greatest opioid abusers (ASAM, 2016).  As if that is not alarming enough, of the 276,000 adolescents using prescription opioids, 122,000 have an addiction to the drugs (ASAM, 2016).  Opioid overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the US (ASAM, 2016).  With statistics this high, I think we can all quickly think of at least one person we know, whether it be friend or family, who struggles with opioid addiction or lost someone because of the struggles with addiction.  Addiction is a disease and it is affecting the lives of so many, so young.

           

References

American Academy of Pediatrics. (2015). Understanding drug schedules. Retrieved from             https://www.healthychildren.org/

American Association of Poison Control Centers. (2017). Opioid narcotic pain medication.           Retrieved from https://www.aapcc.org/alerts/opioids/

American Society of Addiction Medicine. (2016). Opioid addiction 2016 facts and figures.          Retrieved from https://www.asam.org/

Volkow, L. (2014). America’s addition to opioids: heroin and prescription drug abuse. National Institute on Drug Abuse. Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/