What is 50 times more potent than heroin? What is 100 times more powerful than morphine? Same answer to both questions, Fentanyl. Fentanyl is a strong synthetic drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration to be medically used for pain relief and as an anesthetic.
WalletHub recently delved into the substance abuse problem with a major research article, examining all 50 states and the District of Columbia. They found that while some states ranked much higher with substance abuse issues than others, those ratings could change as the data is examined in different ways.
Methamphetamine never received the notoriety or news attention that opioids did – at least not until recently. Now headlines from medical journals, government agencies, popular magazines to radio stations are screaming warnings about the dangers and increases in methamphetamine use.
Methamphetamine (meth) abuse is growing. The drug is becoming easier to get and is inexpensive. It is also highly addictive, and methamphetamine treatment can be complicated. Unlike some substance abuse disorders that are treated with medications, at this time there are no medications that have proven effective to counteract the effects of methamphetamine or improve abstinence rates for people seeking recovery from methamphetamine addiction.
As the much-publicized war on opioids continues, another drug is quietly regaining momentum and leaving a deadly path of destruction. Methamphetamine is back. Back in a very big way.
The potential risk for overdose with these drugs cannot be overstated. It is important that people are educated to understand the risks involved and seek help if struggling with opioid addiction.
Julie speaks of her son with a touch of wonder in her voice, “I still can’t believe how great Jack is doing!” Her son completed the program at Gulf Breeze Recovery almost three years ago. All his adult life, and most of his adolescence had been a struggle both for him and his parents.
According to the Surgeon General’s Report published in 2016 “20.8 million people aged 12 or older in the United States had a substance use disorder. That number is similar to the number of people who suffer from diabetes and more than 1.5 times the annual prevalence of all cancers combined (14 million).”
Recovering from addiction isn’t easy, but it is possible, and it does happen – even after multiple relapses; individuals can and do find and maintain sobriety. To do so they need a facility that understands relapse and can help both the individual and the family understand relapse too.
I attended Gulf Breeze Recovery in 2016 after over a decade of failed attempts to get clean at 12-step drug treatment centers. I was an IV drug user, and I thought that if anyone truly understood how powerful my cravings were, then surely they would see why it was impossible for me to stay sober. That’s why one of the most valuable insights I gained during my time in Gulf Breeze was my relationship to cravings.