This post aims to de-stigmatize opioids, which are a legitimate medical treatment, while also recognizing the disease of addiction and how opioids factor into this. 

For many people, opioids are a legitimate form of medical treatment; for addicts, they are not. Unfortunately, the latter part of the sentence tends to outshine the former, as the dangers of opioids make the headlines far more than the legitimacy of opioids and other stigmatized medicinal treatments such as ketamine therapies.

While opioids are extremely dangerous for addicts to use and should likely never be administered as a treatment for someone who has the disease of addiction, plenty of people with other illnesses can benefit from drug therapies including opioid treatment. Therefore, it is beneficial to challenge the stigma surrounding opioids.

What Are Opioids? 

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) defines opioids as a class of drugs derived from opium poppy plants. They can then be split into two wider categories- opioids which are legally manufactured as medication and narcotics, which are illegal and often abused. 

Opioid medications include oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine, and fentanyl. These heavy-duty painkillers are used to treat severe pain, such as cancer pain or chronic pain that doesn’t respond to other medications. Additionally, methadone is often administered in addiction treatment. 

Opioid Addiction Is Real

Opioid addiction is a staggering issue and something that poses a major threat to the health of Americans in particular. Addiction is a disease that devastates not only an individual but has an explosive effect on everyone in their life. It can cause people to completely change their personalities and do unspeakable things to not only their loved ones but innocent people in their communities. The opioid crisis is something that is a real threat to the health of Americans due to the misuse of these narcotics.

Why is opioid use an increasingly worrisome issue in the US? The CFR estimated that this colossal problem began in the 1990s due to overprescription of opioid medications. The abuse of illicit narcotics then led to a second spike in the opioid crisis, as illegal heroin caused the crisis to again rise in the 2010s. Now, synthetic opioids including fentanyl are causing an alarming increase in overdose deaths in the past decade. 

The CFR says that over a million people in the United States died of drug overdoses since 2000, with many people overdosing on opioids. The CFR states that the pandemic increased the abuse of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. The opioid crisis is now a major foreign policy issue for the United States since many opioids come from Mexico and China. The opioid crisis affects a broad demographic of people and has staggering economic consequences in addition to the millions of lives it devastates.

Fast Facts On The Opioid Crisis 

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 5.8% of the world’s population (296 million people) used drugs at least one time in 2021. About 20% (60 million) of these people used opioids. In 2021, the WHO estimated that around 39.5 percent of people were living with drug use disorders.

The majority of people who are dependent on opioids use illegally manufactured heroin. Currently, the opioid crisis is defined by the illicit distribution of fentanyl, which is being smuggled from China and Mexico into the US.

Opioids Are Also A Medical Treatment

The opioid crisis is the worst drug crisis in the history of the US and something that is devastating millions of lives. However, there is a difference between illicit narcotics and opioids as legitimate medications. When not overprescribed and when administered properly by people who are not addicted to the medication, opioids are valid treatments for people who are otherwise unable to receive relief from their conditions. 

Health Direct defines how opioids can safely be taken as medications, though people who are prescribed opioids should already be informed by their doctors about how to take their medications safely. Opioid medications are prescribed for both short-term pain management, such as after surgery, or to manage life-limiting diseases. Opioids should not be mixed with alcohol, sedatives, or any illicit drugs. Opioids do have side effects, like any medication, though, for many people, the benefits of being able to have some degree of relief outweigh the disadvantages and potential risks of the medications.

Chronic Pain Is Stigmatized (Opioids Can Help)

While chronic pain patients aren’t the only people who can potentially benefit from opioid therapies, they are certainly one party who can see an improvement in life due to this treatment. People with chronic pain face an uphill battle daily to fight for the legitimacy of not only being treated but also having their illnesses recognized enough in the first place so that someone will help search for a remedy. When chronic illnesses are not visible to the naked eye, the validity of one’s suffering is particularly called into question by medical professionals.

The last thing that someone who is dealing with chronic pain or coping with another illness that requires the treatment of opioids or other medications (such as ketamine treatment for depression) needs is judgment. Such harsh reactions from others can prevent patients from accepting legitimate treatments and therapies from medical professionals if they are offered. Opioid stigmas can also cause people to stay silent about their treatments even though forming a network of support is proven to have healing benefits.

Opioids: Closing Words & Personal Story

Ultimately, the treatment someone chooses to pursue is between them and their doctor. Furthermore, doctors are flawed, and it might take numerous trips to many doctors to find the right treatment to help someone maintain a semblance of a life. To help normalize opioid use for people with life-limiting ailments, their constant demonization in the media should also be met with people who combat these claims. Then, people seeking treatments for their conditions can consider their options without unnecessary fear.

To close this piece, I would like to add that I have been prescribed opioid medications before spinal surgery while attempting to manage chronic nerve pain. Due to the stigma surrounding opioids, I was terrified to be prescribed them. However, I chose to trust my doctor at my pain management clinic.

Many people would assume that these medications would make me altered. However, due to my pain condition, I was able to take my medications and feel clear-headed. People with chronic pain are known to sometimes have an altered brain chemistry. For me, my medication affected me like a normal person might be affected by Ibuprofen. I never misused my medication and had no problem getting off of it. However, this is not the case for everyone.

I fully recognize that this is not the experience that someone with addiction would have while taking these medications, but it’s important to recognize that this experience is also valid. Opioids exist as an illicit narcotic that is wreaking millions of lives and causing personal, national, and global devastation. They are also medications that can be misused and overprescribed.

However, opioids are also part of a valid pain treatment plan to increase the quality of life for people who are severely suffering. Once we recognize the duality of opioids, hopefully, the stigma surrounding them can be reduced so that more people can embrace the treatment they need while others can seek help for their addictions.

Continued Reading: Is Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Beneficial?