COMPLICATIONS OF OPIOID ADDICTION

Although it is true that addiction is a disease and not a lapse in moral character, there are still some very motivating reasons to cure addiction. Opioid addiction in particular has some very severe complications, including death. The chemical makeup of opioids makes users want to take more and more, but unfortunately one of the side effects of opioid usage is respiratory depression, which can lead to anoxia and result in death. In addition to actual death by overdose, there are other risks associated with opioid addiction.

Other complications caused by the medication itself are gastrointestinal distress, caused by the constipating side effect of the medicine, impaired visual acuity. However, most of these other complications are associated with the user’s mental state. For example, opioid users are at an increased risk for suicidal tendencies or suicide attempts, emotional distress caused by family and relationship issues, financial instability due to large portions of income being spent on drugs, legal issues due to drug-related crimes, homelessness, and work or school-related issues.

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Additionally, as previously mentioned, addiction to prescription opioids often leads to heroin use, which can be dangerous due to the fact that it is not regulated by the FDA and can contain other, more harmful chemicals. Opioid is not something to be taken lightly, and has resulted in numerous deaths both by overdose and the social and mental complications.