Arizona's Opioid Crisis

Drugs are wreaking havoc on America. Big cities, small towns and rural communities are all feeling the effects of drug addiction, from violence to preventable deaths.

The Opioid Epidemic in Arizona is a major concern for citizens who want to protect their loved ones from venturing down a dangerous and deadly path. Drug addiction can tear families apart and the amount of tragic, avoidable deaths by overdose are rising each year.

According to azcentral.com, preliminary data from new tracking efforts indicates at least 716 people in Arizona died from opioid-related overdoses from June-December 2017. This real-time data is relayed to the Arizona Department of Health Services, which has shared that nearly 5,000 overdoses were reported during that time frame, with about 15 percent resulting in death—that’s an average of 190 overdoses every week. Nationwide, 115 people in the U.S. die from opioid overdose each day, according to statistics from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

While awareness and education are important preventive measures, it’s also necessary that those already ensnared in the vicious, seemingly never-ending addiction cycle get the help and support they need. Drug addiction is a disease that kills, and the only way to survive is to kick addiction to the curb. Of course, it’s easier said than done, and the recovery process presents unique challenges that truly test an individual’s strength and willpower.

For those whose lives are derailed by heroin addiction, getting clean is a critical step in securing a brighter future. A report by Josh Katz shows that more Americans died from drug overdoses in 2016 than in the entire Vietnam War. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows more than 62,000 people in the U.S. passed away in 2016 from drug addiction. Doctors, medical professionals and government officials are scrambling to implement solutions to slow down, and hopefully turn around, the alarming trend in drug addiction and drug-related deaths.

Doctors are concerned with helping addicts get off their drug and stay clean, without relapsing. This is especially true in Arizona, where there is a clear and indisputable problem with drugs. Despite controversy, Scottsdale methadone maintenance treatment is used in many cases to help people overcome their demons and approach life in a new and healthier way.

Methadone is an opioid agonist that minimizes painful withdrawal symptoms in those addicted to heroin without causing the high that many seek. Methadone is only available from certified pharmacies and is used to relieve pain and assist in the transition from heroin addiction to rehabilitation. It is popular for maintenance therapy programs because it is a long-acting opioid, meaning it’s effects come over time rather than right away, such as with heroin. This makes methadone a favored choice for gradually weaning a patient off opioids entirely.

For methadone maintenance treatment to work, a dedicated team of doctors and medical professionals must closely watch over the patient to ensure everything goes smoothly. Although methadone treatment has been used to combat opioid addiction since the 1950s, it is still of utmost importance that every doctor and nurse monitor each individual and their reaction to methadone—it is still an opioid, and it can present powerful addictive qualities of its own.

As methadone minimizes that intense desire for heroin, it gives those in recovery the chance to adjust to a new life and new future, with the help of a much safer opioid. In fact, methadone has been such a major player in drug rehabilitation over the last few decades that the World Health Organization has included the substance on its list of essential medicines.

Like other opioids, methadone can be addictive if misused. Yet it’s much safer for a patient to take methadone under the watchful eyes of medical staff than it is to inject heroin of unknown quantity and quality. Because heroin is most commonly injected, it can often lead to HIV transmission when needles are shared. When an addicted individual takes methadone in a certified clinic or center, there is no need to worry as methadone is administered orally; no needles or dirty drugs are involved.

Those who are addicted to heroin are absolutely obsessed with trying to obtain their drug of choice. It’s all they can think about and focus on, and many will do anything they can to get their hands on more heroin; unfortunately, this often leads to criminal activity like stealing and assault. For people in methadone treatment, there is no need to go to these measures, and it’s a much more comfortable and safe, education and family life. Patients in methadone do not need to do this. Instead, they can turn their attention to more productive pursuits, including employment, education and family life.

Methadone therapy can significantly diminish the frequency of death in opioid addicted people, as well as reduce rates of drug injecting and criminal acts. Doses of more than 60 mg are most effective during this treatment. When a patient receives methadone, they are setting themselves up for a slow yet steady transition off of heroin.

Methadone is an important aspect of the response to the opioid epidemic gripping our nation.

“As the addiction field is coming into the 21^st century — kicking and screaming — the science of addiction in regards to these medicines is undeniably clear,” Richard Rawson, a Vermont researcher and professor emeritus at UCLA School of Medicine, told The San Diego Union Tribune. “These medicines, from a public health point of view, are essential parts of the response to the opioid epidemic.”