Support for Opioid Use Disorder

In recognition of the estimated 2.1 million people in the United States who struggle with an opioid use disorder, National Opioid Awareness Day, observed on September 21, is marked to create awareness about the effects of opioid overdose and reduce the stigma associated with it. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of those in or seeking recovery from mental and substance use disorders. What are opioids? Opioids include prescription medications used to treat pain such as morphine, codeine, methadone, oxycodone, hydrocodone, fentanyl, hydromorphone, and buprenorphine, as well as illegal drugs such as heroin and illicit potent opioids such as fentanyl analogs (e.g., carfentanil). What is unique about opioids? Conventionally, opioids have been prescribed as pain medication. However, clinical guidelines state that opioids should be used only as a last resort for chronic pain in the absence of safer alternatives. Most Americans who use prescription opioids for pain management refuse to believe that they are abusing them. But if taken differently than prescribed, opioids can cause death by slowing, and eventually stopping, a person’s breathing. Why the opioid epidemic? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the extensive overuse of opioid substances began in the U.S. in the late 1990s, when opioid prescriptions for pain management escalated. According to their statistics, nearly 841,000 people died from drug overdoses between 1999 and 2020,...
Source: The Cornflower - Category: Databases & Libraries Authors: Tags: Blog opioid epidemic opioid resources Source Type: news