|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
By Rowena Boulton
Originally intended to treat pain, opioids have instead become the center of a national public health crisis. Addiction rates have surged since the 1990s as opioid prescription medications and illicit drugs like heroin and fentanyl have become widely accessible, making it increasingly difficult for people to escape the cycle of opioid addiction due to physical, social, and economic barriers that stand in the way of recovery.
Obstacles to recovery start first in the body, with intense symptoms that begin immediately after someone stops taking opioids. When this occurs, opioid users enter the acute-withdrawal phase, which typically begins within 6-12 hours for short-acting opioids and 30 hours for longer-acting ones. This phase is characterized by harsh symptoms like chills, nausea, shakes, and vomiting, making it extremely difficult for opioid users to resist relapse.
However, withdrawal symptoms don’t always end even after opioids leave the body. Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome, or PAWS, can affect those in recovery for weeks or even months after opioid detoxification, with symptoms ranging from heightened anxiety and apathy to difficulty socializing and learning.
These symptoms can drastically interfere with an opioid user’s daily life, impacting work, education, and relationships with others.
On top of the physical symptoms that come from withdrawal, financial barriers also stand in the way of opioid users on their way to recovery. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA, only 0.8% of opioid users received medication-based treatment in the past year. This is partially because health insurance plans, which are supposed to offer financial protection in the case of injury or sickness, often do not cover opioid use treatment.
Even when treatment is covered by insurance, high costs make it inaccessible to many opioid users, rendering it largely ineffective to the majority of people it is supposed to help.
Other obstacles stand in the way of recovery and treatment as well. According to a study conducted by Frontiers in Public Medicine, “the top two non-insurance-related barriers included stigma (47.6%), and financial difficulties (26.2%).”
Public perception of opioid users remains overwhelmingly negative due to stereotypes entrenched in society that characterize users as dangerous or untrustworthy. These social stigmas can discourage opioid users from seeking help for fear of being judged or mistreated.
Some stable support systems are in place nationally and locally, however. The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) invests in harm reduction, prevention, and treatment services across the state; locally, the Alameda County Behavioral Health helpline acts as a point of contact for substance use services.
Despite the efforts of these support systems, the treatment gap for opioid users still remains. Without equitable access to treatment, the stigma around opioid use and the cycle of addiction cannot be broken. In order for opioid users to receive effective treatment, all aspects of recovery, from overcoming physical symptoms to dismantling systemic barriers, must be accessible.
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 and the grant is administered by Three Valleys Community Foundation.
SRVUSD board approves more teacher layoffs; world language program hit heavilyFebruary 26, 2026 9:57 am