Opioid and Opiate Epidemic

As someone dependent on opiates, you may have begun using the powerful drug to cope with physical pain and not known quite how addictive the substance was and how reliant you could become.

Painkillers are a type of drug to help with moderate and severe pain. These types which are made from manufacturers include oxycodone, hydrocodone, fentanyl, and morphine. The problem is that opiates are highly addictive after long-term use and in higher amounts.

Opioids are available legally -- as prescription drugs for painkillers -- and on the black market in other forms, such as heroin. Opiates (the natural chemical substance) are derived from the opium poppy plant. 

Any urine drug test must include these specific panels with the correct cutoff level for best test detection of opiate types. Otherwise, a urine sample will screen without properly picking up the painkiller that was abused.

The opioid issues began in the nineties with natural and semi-synthetic forms of the substance. Today one of the most significant reasons for the increase in overdose deaths in the US is synthetically manufactured opioids, such as counterfeit pills, cocaine, illicitly manufactured fentanyl (IMF), and combinations of IMF and heroin. These statistics may get worse without intervention and community involvement.

The issue is incredibly widespread, with more than 130 people in the US dying daily from an opioid overdose. Opioids are one of the most abused drugs, second only to marijuana.

A person takes opiates for pain relief and for the feelings of calm and euphoria. No matter the reason for starting to abuse opioids -- medically for pain management, or on the street -- continuing to abuse the substance has serious risks. Opioid abuse may need to be met with proper treatment and guidelines from a physician and/or therapist.

To prevent opiate dependence from escalating, an opiate panel drug test cup may be a solution. Treatment is essential for opiate addiction to help stop the drug use, to get through withdrawal, and to cope with craving.