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Stop. Before you make that life altering decision, think.
Opioids aren’t just a fun drug. They are layered, complex and addictive.
Opioids can hijack the brain’s reward system, creating a sense of need for the drug even when the user isn’t in need of it. Over time, the body builds a tolerance, requiring higher dosages to feel the same effects; if this process is stopped, withdrawals will kick in and symptoms such as anxiety, nausea, sweating, and muscle pain will kick in.
As opioids slow down breathing, higher dosages can lead to death. Overdose is extremely dangerous and common, especially when mixed with alcohol or any other form of depressants.
According to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, in 2021, 130 Americans die everyday from an opioid overdose. The National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics states that opioids are a factor in at least seven out of every 10 overdose deaths.
Statistics such as these serve as a reminder of the harm that misuse of opioids can cause for anyone around you.
Opioids can be seen as temporary relief, but people who misuse them rarely imagine themselves as a statistic.
Before you make a decision to just try, please consider how using could affect you in the future.
Imagine your hands become cold and clammy and your fingernails turn blue, then you start vomiting and lose consciousness. Breaths become less frequent as the lungs move toward respiratory failure. Heart problems begin to arise as the heart fails to pump enough blood for the body,
Sometimes it doesn’t stop at the trip to an emergency room. It ends with a trip to a grave.
This article was written as part of a program to educate youth and others about Alameda County’s opioid crisis, prevention and treatment options. The program is funded by the Alameda County Behavioral Health Department and the grant is administered by Three Valleys Community Foundation.
