According to the Center for Disease Control, the rates of fatal opiate overdose have more than tripled in the past 2 and a half decades. Of course, the incidence of death reflects an increase in the number of individuals using these substances. As I’ve seen in clinical settings during that time, initial exposure to painkillers like Oxycodone (Percocet) or Hydrocodone (Vicodin) too often leads quickly to addiction, characterized by powerful cravings and painful withdrawal symptoms relieved by repeated use. People who thought they were just following a surgeon’s orders or having fun with drugs in college or neighborhood settings fail to recognize their addictions until they become severe. Many proceed from pills to heroin, which is much less costly though also more likely to cause overdose (because of unpredictable variations in purity).
If
you are concerned about your drug use or that of someone you care about, there
are a number of treatment approaches that can help in the very difficult path
to sustained recovery. The process
starts with a clinical overview, either with someone in private practice like
myself or at an appropriate clinic. Not
every clinician knows much about addictions, which does not prevent them from
saying that they do. Look for either
experience working in an alcohol/drug-focused setting or a certification (CADAC
or CAS) or alcohol/drug counseling license (in Massachusetts, called
LADC).
If
only we had reason to hope that Philip Hoffman’s tragic death would be a turning
point for our society, just as the death of Len Bias in 1986 seemed to puncture
the myth that anyone was immune to the dangers of cocaine.
