Prescription painkillers kill about twice as many people as cocaine and five times as many as heroin. Nearly two million Americans are dependent on or abusing narcotic (opioid) pain relievers—nearly twice as many as are addicted to cocaine. Because opioid painkillers target the same brain receptors as heroin, causing euphoria, they carry the risk of addiction.
On television shows, drug addicts are often depicted as criminal characters making deals on dark street corners. In fact, people abusing opioid painkillers are most likely to obtain them from friends or family members rather than from any other source, reports the January 2011 issue of the Harvard Mental Health Letter.
Dr. Michael Miller, editor in chief of the Harvard Mental Health Letter, explains that treatment for a painkiller addiction is most successful when it consists of two phases: detoxification to reduce or eliminate withdrawal symptoms after opioid use stops, followed by a longer (and sometimes indefinite) maintenance phase. Although counseling is an important part of treatment, most people addicted to painkillers require treatment with a medication such as methadone or buprenorphine during both detoxification and maintenance therapy. Although most people addicted to opioids make multiple attempts to kick the habit, it can be done.