Opium Addiction

Opium Addiction is a growing addiction across the nation. The powerful painkiller’s heroin-like effects attract both legitimate and illegitimate users. Opium Addiction is spreading for a variety of reasons. First, the elevated opiate dosage makes it highly addictive. Second, in contrast to drugs such as cocaine or heroin that can be laced with other substances, with Opium, you know how much of the drug you are getting; the dosage is consistent, so it is a dependable high. Finally, Opium is covered by most health insurance plans, so it is significantly cheaper than street drugs. In fact, Opium is sometimes referred to as “hillbilly heroin” or “the poor man’s heroin”.

Opium is the crudest form, and also the least potent, of the Opiates. It is also highly addictive. Opium is the milky latex fluid contained in the un-ripened seed pod of the Opium poppy. As the fluid is exposed to air, it hardens and turns black in color. This dried form is typically smoked, but also can be eaten. Opium is grown mainly in Myanmar (formerly Burma) and Afghanistan.

Today, Opium is sold on the street as a powder or dark brown solid and is smoked, eaten, or injected.

Opium is medically used to fight extreme pain. It is commonly prescribed to cancer patients as an alternative to morphine. The drug is addictive, can be expensive, and when it is misused, it can be lethal. The powerful prescription pain reliever has quickly become the hot new street drug. It will give you a high much like HIGH GRADE Heroin, but with worse consequences. 5mg of OXY has as much active ingredient (oxycodone) as one Percocet. So, chewing or snorting a 40mg OXY is like taking 8 Percocet at once or 80mg of OXY is like taking 16 Percocet at once. It first produces a feeling of pleasure and euphoria, but with its continued use, the body demands higher amounts of the drug to reach the same high as before. Once this happens, the body begins to develop a tolerance for the drug making the withdrawal symptoms from the drug even worse. Opium Addiction has similar effects on the body as heroin addiction. Once a tolerance has developed, the chances of overdose increase tremendously. Signs and symptoms of overdose include Slow breathing, Seizures, Dizziness, Weakness, Loss of consciousness, Coma, Confusion, Tiredness, Cold and clammy skin, and Small pupils. In situations involving overdose, please seek emergency medical help immediately.

Withdrawal symptoms associated with Opium Addiction are extremely uncomfortable, and addicts typically continue to take the drug to avoid the pain rather that to try to reach the initial state of euphoria. Just like with heroin, Opium Addiction is almost impossible to recover from alone as the withdrawal symptoms are worse with Opium and last longer than they do with heroin. Professional help from a heroin detox center is the best and safest way to do this, but there is NO painless way.

Opium Addiction is a serious illness that affects not only the addict, but also everyone around them. It is an addiction that can be life threatening and needs to be treated as such. Only help from certified addiction counselors or a residential drug and alcohol rehab center can help with recovery. It can not be done alone. If you or someone you know suffers from Opium Addiction, please call us for help. We can help with the long, hard road to recovery.

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