Opioid

Our country has an opioid problem fueled by the fact that we have a drug abuse problem that often starts with alcohol, tobacco and marijuana.  The three primary drugs of choice that often lead to hard drugs.  People don't start their life of addiction with heroin.

 Funding for substance abuse prevention education programs is more than lacking but almost nonexistent at all levels of schools (elementary to high school) and community centers.  These programs would not only decrease the addiction epidemic but it would also significantly reduce domestic violence issues, human trafficking, pornography, crime and traffic car crashes (Florida is consistently ranked in the top 1 or 2 for fatal crashes involving drugs)... drugs often are the root of many of these life-alerting problems.  These issues individual, the entire family and every community. It is impossible to put a value on prevention programs.  How much do you value your family member's life?   

Additional Articles linking Marijuana and Opioid Use

 

Opioid Resources

Website

Pathway to Heroin

STUDY:  Nonmedical prescription opioids and pathways of drug involvement in the US: Generational differences.      PDF form

The graph and report reflect no matter which generation heroin addiction does not begin by using heroin but other drugs.  The three  drugs that "prime" the brain and often lead to harder drugs are cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana.  We need prevention funding to help educate our children, parents and community leaders develop the skills and strategies to avoid drug abuse.   ADDICTION IS A PREVENTABLE DISEASE. 
Colorado Opioid Deaths have increased since legalization of marijuana

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More than half of the 4.2 million Americans who misused prescription opioids between 2012 and 2014 also engaged in binge drinking, according to a new studyexternal icon released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the American Journal of Preventive Medicineexternal icon. 


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Opioid Resource Center

Free access to research, data, analyses and other resources The opioid epidemic is taking lives every day. In the United States, where President Trump has declared it a national public health emergency, prescription opioids and heroin killed more than 33,000 people in 2015.