I'm a junkie. I'm not going to be able to hide it much longer. It sort of snuck up on me. I used to believe that addiction was solely about alcohol and drugs. I was completely mistaken.
But I'll let you in on what I've discovered. I'm not Robinson Crusoe, as it turns out. Humans, I've discovered, are naturally addicted. According to several specialists in the subject (Richard Ruhr's Breathing Underwater is a must-read), the term 'addiction' is a modern label for what the biblical tradition called in and what was referred to as 'passion' or 'attachments' in medieval times. In my pursuit for solutions, I discovered that addiction is one of the most pressing issues confronting society.
This crisis is a result of medical doctors prescribing opioid painkillers like Vicodin, OxyContin, and Diluted at alarmingly high rates, with complete disregard for the precautions required due to the addictive nature of these powerful medications.
When our present drug issue began in the 1960s and 1970s, the "pusher guy" was both feared and loathed. The news publications were packed with hollow-faced addicts with needles dangling from their weak, emaciated arms. The photographs revolted and shamed us, and we loathed people who used and profited from addicts.
Today's drug situation looks to be different. It's still not glamorous, to be sure. It isn't, however, unsightly. In news magazines, there are no pictures of junkies. Today, heroin addicts are not found in squalid "shooting galleries." They're snorting or inhaling this dreadful stuff in living rooms and clubs.
And what about the peddler? He's just as likely to wear a white coat and stethoscope and work in a high-rise office building as he is to peddle his poisons in the alleyways and backstreets of metropolitan slums, dressed in loose-fitting trousers and garish gold jewelry. Today's pusher is a doctor, and the poisons he sells are prescription medications. We're dealing with a prescription drug epidemic rather than an illicit drug one. And unnecessarily suffering.
These painkillers are wreaking havoc on people who misuse them, as well as their family and friends. A flagrant disrespect for acceptable standards of whom to supply these potent and addictive prescription medications is increasing the danger to users and the agony to their families and friends. And a complete contempt for their superiors.
Only 8% of individuals administered opioids in one medical system had a urine test done initially, according to data. Even individuals with a history of drug addiction had urine drug testing performed just about a quarter of the time.
In addition, half of the patients in this study were allowed to refill their prescriptions without having to return to the doctor for a follow-up visit. Early refills were a common occurrence, which is a sign of drug misuse.
These protocols must be established, and medical practitioners must be held accountable if they fail to follow them.
Treatment Options for Drug Addiction
Other medicines may be necessary in the therapy procedure, depending on the sorts of narcotics consumed. Certain narcotics have been produced and are recommended by doctors to help people detox from drugs that they have misused. Drug, like Methadone, used to treat opioid addiction. Patients would suffer from severe withdrawal symptoms if these treatments were not available, which might put their health at jeopardy or lead them to turn to illicit narcotics to relieve their pain
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