Prescription Opiates - As Addictive as Heroin?

The national survey of drug use and health reports that 21.5 million aged 12 and older were prone to drug addiction. Out of these almost 1.9 million users are supposedly addicted to opiates. Not any opiates but proper prescription painkillers. This exact number is much higher than those addicted to heroin in the country. We can safely say that America is undergoing a drug epidemic and everyone has to act fast to do something about it.

Now on one side, we have a pure narcotic drug like heroin and on the other, we have prescription painkillers. Both of them are being abused. The big question here is that are Prescription Opiates: As Addictive as Heroin?

Medicines like oxycodone and hydrocodone alter perception by targeting the opioid receptors of the brain. They are synthetic chemicals and provide a feeling of well being along with pain relief. The person prescribed with these classes of drugs soon starts enjoying the feeling of well being along with the added advantage of pain relief. These drugs are supposed to be taken for a period of time and then stopped. What happens is that people do get rid of the pain but they get used to the high. As with any other form of addiction the body develops a tolerance for these drugs and a person needs more of them to get high.  This leads to a full-blown addiction.

When such a person enters into the addiction zone then he wants to get this dose at any cost. Faking symptoms of pain to get the prescription is very common. People would even hire mules that can fake the sickness and get drugs for them. However recently tighter drug control measures are in place and it is getting difficult for people to get their hands on prescription painkillers. This leads to addicts going to the black market for getting their stuff.

Hence we can now assume that prescription opiates although not as addictive as heroin at first instance are an equally big threat to the American Society.