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Opioid Abuse and Addiction Treatment

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Opioid Abuse and Addiction Treatment
Opioid Abuse and Addiction Treatment
Kaplan University
Crystal Ybanez
CM107-85
1/13/12

What was once an effective solution for managing chronic pain has become one of the most commonly abused substances in our society, causing the need for a monitored and effective plan for treating chemically dependent individuals and their addiction to opiate’s. Ghodse (2012) stated that addiction to opiates is a disease causing malfunctions of the brain; it has effects on the mind and body requiring a specific medication in the treatment plan, and is recognized as being the most effective. Deaths should only occur from old age; that’s not the case now days and it’s because of this horrible addiction. It’s one of the risks taken from abusing opioids. It’s gotten so bad teenagers are dying from it. Are opiates worth giving your life to? No drug is worth my life! For those that feel it’s impossible to stop, ask a doctor about buprenorphine. It’s what doctor’s use for treating this addiction and acts as an opioid receptor in the brain (Ghodse, 2012). Yeah it’s great there’s a solution to help stop substance abuse, but never using is a lot more effective for your life. Shoenfeld (2012) made it clear that once you start abusing opiates, most require treatment in order to stop Opiates are a group of narcotics that contain opium or natural synthetic opium (Shoenfeld, 2012). Some of the commonly abused opiates include: Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Heroin, Codeine, Morphine, and Methadone as well as many other pain medications. They can be crushed and snorted, taken orally, and even injected. The most restrictive legally available drugs are the opiates Methadone and Morphine (Shoenfeld, 2012). They are prescribed for severe pain. Individuals can be prescribed methadone as an option for treatment but in reality is highly addictive and commonly abused. Addiction has no limits and doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t care who you are, where you’re from, or what your life actually has in



References: Ghodse, H. (2012). Drugs of Abuse and Dependence In: Cambridge University Press (ed.), Drugs and Addictive Behavior: A Guide to Treatment. (pp.98-99). New York, New York Cambridge University Press Ghodse, H., (2002). Opiate Withdrawal In: Cambridge University Press (ed.), Drugs and Addictive Behavior: A Guide to Treatment. (p.459). New York, New York Cambridge University Press Butelman, B., Leveron, O., Kreek, M., Schulessman, S., Yan, Y., (Oct., 2012). Opiate Addiction and Cocaine Addiction: Underlying Molecular Neurobiology and Genetics. The Journal of Clinical Investigation, 122(10), 3387-3389 Wesson, D., (June, 2010). Buprenorphine in the treatment of Opiate Dependence, Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 42(2), 161

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