Opioid Abuse Remains at Crisis Levels
Meant for Pain Relief, Opioids Have Become a “Party Drug”
According to a 2018 study, one in 10 electronic dance music (EDM) party attendees have misused opioids in the past year. This exceeds the current national average for opioid use.
The study was done by the Center for Drug Use and HIV/HCV Research (CDUHR) at NYU Meyers College of Nursing.
The researchers found that almost a quarter (23.9 percent) of EDM party attendees have used opioids non-medically in their lifetime. And one out of 10 (9.8 percent) had used opioids in the past year. This is higher than the national prevalence of approximately 4 percent of adults 18 and older.
Five percent of respondents reported misusing opioids in the past month.
Casual Opioid Use Can Lead to Addiction
At Support Systems Homes, we treat many clients struggling with addiction to opioids.
Our best advice: Do not take any opioid unless there is a medical reason. Medical reasons for opioid use include severe injuries, post-surgical pain and extreme pain from medical procedures. Supervision from a qualified physician is needed.
At Support Systems Homes’ Bay Area rehab facilities in San Jose, CA, we use medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies – providing a whole person approach in the treatment of substance use disorders.
Functional Addiction with Opioid Use
Signs of opioid addiction can be very subtle. Continued use often leads to ‘functional addiction‘.
Functional addicts and alcoholics appear to be ok. They go to work every day and complete all projects on time. Most functional addicts are workaholics. And most are well-respected by their peers at work.
In fact, functional addiction often appears to work great. Functional addiction works for the user right up until the time it no longer works – because the user is being carried out by EMS personnel on a stretcher.
Opioid Addiction Rates Continue to Increase
While the rates of opioid addiction treatment have increased more than six-fold since 1999, few individuals struggling with addiction actually receive treatment.
A Surgeon General’s Report found that only 1 in 10 people receive any treatment to manage their addiction. Of those addicted, 40% do not seek treatment. Of the 20 million Americans that had a substance abuse addiction in 2015, about 10% of them were addicted to opioids.
Opioid Overdose Rates Still Rising
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), between June 2016 and September 2017, emergency room visits for suspected opioid overdoses increased 30% across the US.
These figures, included in the agency’s Vital Signs report, suggest that the opioid crisis which claimed more than 42,000 lives in 2016, shows few signs of improving. That is an average of 115 opioid overdose deaths each day. “It does not respect state or county lines and is still increasing in every region in the United States,” Dr. Anne Schuchat, the acting director of the CDC, said in a statement.
The CDC estimates that the total “economic burden” of prescription opioid misuse in the United States is $78.5 billion a year. This includes the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement.
DO I HAVE A SUBSTANCE ABUSE PROBLEM?
Just making it to work every day is not an indicator of physical or emotional health.
For help in looking honestly at your lifestyle, take our online Addiction Self Assessment.
Addiction Self Assessment Form
QUESTIONS? OR NEED CONFIDENTIAL HELP WITH ADDICTION RECOVERY?
Support Systems Homes (SSH) is an internationally accredited, state-licensed substance abuse treatment program dedicated to the innovative and cost-effective treatment of chemical dependency (drug/alcohol addiction).
Based in the Bay Area of Northern California, our San Jose rehab facilities provide confidential recovery services with a comprehensive structure of addiction treatment programs, sober living environments, and services for those suffering from the diseases of alcoholism and drug addiction.
Support Systems Homes has drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs of the highest quality for the most affordable rates. We have a full spectrum of substance abuse treatment services.
HOW TO GET STARTED: ASSESSMENT AND INSURANCE VERIFICATION
We treat all communications with the utmost confidence; your communication to us is secured and never shared.
PLEASE CALL US 24/7 AT 408-370-9688.
