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Opioid Addiction Research Paper

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Opioids are making a resurgence in the black market, evident by the rapidly increasing opioid overdose rates in an increasing fatality count for Maryland every year. The state and local governments have been working to alleviate the issue with increased access to counteractive medications and required rehabilitation. This, however, is draining government funds only to stall, if not worsen, the problem. The best approach to stopping the opioid epidemic of Maryland is to take a similar approach to smoking in treating the situation as a matter of addiction instead of one of drug abuse.
Addiction is a disease, and should be recognized as such. The use of taboo substances has been proven by countless studies and basic observation that the “happy hormones” released during use are similar, if not often identical, to the hormones released when we eat, drink, or relieve primal urges. This makes it easy for our brains to develop a “craving trigger” for these drugs, similar to a rumbling stomach when you are hungry. A mental …show more content…

However, studies by multiple major health organizations, including the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the World Health Organization, have linked forced detox programs to a higher relapse rate than treatments sought by recovering users. Psychoanalyst teams from the organizations that did these studies agreed that the higher relapse rate is due to the forced detox-ers losing their sense of freedom by being corralled into the program, similar to how a toddler will not cooperate with getting dressed unless they believe they are in charge. Though treatment programs need to be readily available to those that will take them, forcing repeat users into them without their own desire to get help will only drain government

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