About Opiate Addiction

Purpose Healing Center in North Scottsdale, Arizona offers opiate addiction treatment in the Phoenix Valley.

Opioid pain relievers began being regularly used in 1803. Today, they remain the preferred pain reliever for anyone suffering from moderate to severe pain. Opioid pain relievers are used in many different situations including post-surgical treatment, end-of-life care and more. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), physicians have written over 250 million prescriptions for opioid pain relievers in a single year. There are individuals who abuse these types of drugs. They will chew on the extended-release tablets or crush the tablets and then snort them. There are others who will inject this medication. The injectable type of opioid pain reliever is estimated to be three times stronger than when taken in its oral form. Opioid addiction is a growing crisis across the nation and right here in Phoenix and Arizona.

Morphine: Individuals who abuse morphine are involved with a very dangerous drug. It has the ability to cause significant harm to anyone who abuses it. When someone injects morphine, they are an elevated risk to get hepatitis. According to the CDC, it has been estimated the risk level for getting hepatitis for morphine abusers is as high as 70 percent. They also have an 80 percent risk of getting hepatitis B and also an 80 percent chance of getting hepatitis within five years after they start to inject morphine. In 2010, records showed 8 percent of people newly diagnosed with HIV engaged in injection drug use. Many of those who abuse morphine do not live for five years. In 2013 drug overdoses killed over 43,900 people. Out of this number, more than 22,700 were people with prescriptions. Opioid pain relievers were also responsible for more than 16,200 of these recorded overdoses

Heroin: This is considered one of the most dangerous drugs available. It causes many deaths on a worldwide basis each year. This drug may be injected, snorted or smoked. Each method for ingesting this drug is dangerous, but injection is considered the most dangerous. People who do this will often share dirty needles with others who inject heroin. This puts them at an increased risk for getting HIV/AIDS or Hepatitis. Individuals who use heroin often don’t know it is an opiate. This is the drug addicts most often use after abusing morphine.

OxyContin: This drug has become a problem for professionals treating addiction as well as Scottsdale and Phoenix emergency room workers and more. It is a prescription painkiller but is designed to be a time-release medication. This means OxyContin will release its active ingredient over a specified period of time. Individuals who develop problems with this drug will inject or snort it. This enables them to experience all the opiates at once. When this happens, it puts a person at risk for illness as well as overdose and more.

Hydrocodone: This is an opiate often referred to as a narcotic analgesic. It is an effective drug for providing people with pain relief. Hydrocodone is a prescription drug sold under the names of Lortab, Vicodin, Lorcet and more. It is also sold under the name of other brands of prescription painkillers. Hydrocodone is an opiate drug and is extremely addictive.