Opiates are commonly abused painkillers, such as vicodin, oxycontin and percocet, that lead to millions of addictions in the US every year. In its most recent study, the National Survey of Drug Use & Health (NSDUH) showed that the number of opiate abusers aged 12 or older had climbed to more than 2.2 million, rivaling that […]

In the US, abuse of prescription drugs is not only rising more rapidly than that of street drugs, it has overtaken it. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), an estimated 48 million Americans, 20% of the total population, are abusing prescriptions today. That’s more than those abusing all street drugs combined. The […]

Opiate overdose is possible from any derivative of the drug including prescribed medications such as codeine and hydro-codone. Any patient who presents with symptoms of opiate overdose, should be treated with the opioid antagonist drug naloxone. Opiate addiction affects central nervous system and causes respiratory depression. Supportive ventilation is usually sufficient to prevent death, but […]