OPIOID PAINKILLER ADDICTION
Deadly Counterfeit Pills Continue to Escalate Deaths
The presence of millions of counterfeit prescription drugs that actually contain fentanyl or other dangerous illicit drugs makes drug abuse more dangerous than ever. Just one pill can kill the unwary. We look at why and where this situation exists.
Are Medical Practitioners Still Overprescribing Opioids?
The foremost commitment of any medical practitioner is to do no harm, and the vast majority of physicians hold to that. But what happens when the very drugs doctors prescribe are harmful?
When Opioid Dosages Escalate, Risks for Addiction Increase
According to research data, there are new findings that suggest that as a doctor prescribes more opioids to a patient, the risks for addiction, overdose, and other adverse outcomes increase.
Opiates? Hospitals Now Changing Their Approach
One of my colleagues is a veteran nurse who works in a hospital in Baton Rouge. He was born and raised in a sparsely populated, underserved area of Louisiana which is now being devastated by the opioid epidemic...
Rural America—New Epicenter of Drug Use
The drug problem is no longer a “big city“ problem—it's in every city across the US. How did this happen? Growing up in rural, farmland Michigan, I would never have thought that drug addiction would become a problem for those of us accustomed to country living.
Teens Exposed to Opioid Painkillers in Medical Settings
When we think of how young people are exposed to opiate drugs, what is the first thing we think of? Probably the most likely answer is “peer pressure.“ And not without good reason.
Excessive Dental Opioid Prescribing an Anomaly in the U.S.
It is safe to say that treating oral pain problems is something that dentists often have to do. But how they go about treating such symptoms is another matter entirely.
Treating Pain While Avoiding Addiction—How Can We Help Pain Patients and Also Reduce Opioid Consumption?
An article in the Washington Post from early April 2019 focuses on Kirsten Gillibrand, a Senator from New York and a possible contender for the presidential candidacy in 2020. The article discusses Gillibrand’s efforts to curb the opioid crisis and the criticism she has received in doing so.
How Opioid Pain Reliever Drugs Changed the Drug Addiction Scene
When we work to address the current drug addiction epidemic that has swept our country, we must accept a universal truth. The truth is that the mass introduction of opioid pharmaceuticals (and other addictive pharmaceuticals, for that matter) onto the drug scene has changed how drugs are accessed and misused. In fact, the heavy proliferation of addictive medicines which began in the late 1990s served to alter the face of the addiction scene forever.
The Connection between “Tamper-Resistant” Opioids and Skyrocketing Communicable Disease Crises
Opioid painkillers are a class of drugs which started off seeming like a good idea but which instead ended up creating the worst addiction epidemic that our nation has likely ever seen.