Opiates Crisis In Florida

The opiate crisis in Florida and throughout many other regions in the United States is one of the worst drug epidemics that this country has faced. Millions of Americans suffer from addiction to opiates, and fatalities from opiate addiction continue to rise year after year. In 2017 alone, opiates killed more Americans than car crashes, gun violence, and AIDS, and the epidemic shows no signs of slowing down.

What Are Opiates?

The opiate epidemic is often conflated with heroin addiction and pill addictions. That’s because opiates are a class of drugs that include more than just opioid painkillers. Different forms of opiates include narcotic pain pills, heroin, fentanyl, syrup, codeine, and morphine. What all of these drugs have in common is that they numb sensations and pain in an individual. For example, if you search “what is fentanyl used for?”, you’ll find that much like other forms of opiates, the drug is used to treat patients with severe pain. So how did a class of pain relievers become one of the most vicious killers of Americans? It all has to do with how opiates react with the brain.

The opioid crisis—in Pennsylvania, in Florida, in places like West Virginia and Ohio and California—is perpetuated by the way that opiates work. A healthy brain produces endorphins that help people feel good. Opiates mimic this process, creating synthetic endorphins that heighten feel-good sensations and eventually making it so that the brain cannot produce natural endorphins on its own. This creates a cycle of reliance where an individual needs opiates to experience positive feelings.

What Are The Signs of Opiate Addictions?

Signs of opiate addiction vary from individual to individual, but like other substance addictions, a problem is usually evidenced once the individual shows a lack of ability to control their usage and continues using the drug despite all of its negative consequences. And whether the original opiate use started with a doctor’s prescription or as a recreational activity, addiction often comes on fast, with life-altering effects taking over almost immediately.

One question often asked is “How long does heroin stay in your system?”. Heroin is a particularly tricky opiate in that it leaves the body very quickly and can be undetectable in as little as just two days. Other opiates leave the body at similar speeds. This quick onset heightens the need for qualified detox programs and Suboxone maintenance programs, as addicts will experience symptoms of withdrawal quickly and intensely. Without dedicated oversight, individuals can quickly fall into a deadly cycle of opiate dependency.

Seek Help For Opiate Addiction

Opiates are one of the biggest threats to our nation, claiming the lives of tens of thousands of people every single year. If you or a loved one is struggling to overcome opiate addiction, know that you do not have to do it alone. Our innovative opiate recovery programs are specially designed to treat opiate addiction forcefully and effectively, with therapeutic modalities that address the physical, behavioral, and lifestyle factors that keep the opiate cycle in motion.

Admissions are accepted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and free ground transportation is available both to and from our facilities. For more information on our treatment programs, please contact us at 855.859.8810.

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